Alter Ego
by FrameofMind
Summary: Complete. AU. Inuyasha and Kagome are co-workers who despise each other, but due to a bet Inuyasha must somehow get her to sleep with him. He hides his identity in order to seduce her, however things don't go according to plan...
1. Gentleman's Wager

Author's Note: Okay, to those of you who are waiting for me to update Missing in Action and are thinking 'What the hell are you doing?!' please, don't kill me. I assure you that I will not abandon MIA, nor have I any intention of letting it lie dormant. I just couldn't resist – what can I say? Inspiration struck.

    And to those of you not reading MIA, welcome to my new fic (and read MIA too! It's really cool, I promise).

    Anyway, so far my fics have tended to be more on the dramatic side, so I thought a nice romantic comedy would be, well…nice, for a change! So please, enjoy, and I will update as soon as I can.

Disclaimer: Consider this warning for the duration of the fic (because I'll probably forget this part anyway) – I do not own, nor have I ever owned in any way shape or form, Inuyasha. 'Nuff said. ;)

Alter Ego 

Chapter 1: Gentleman's Wager

"Two beers."  
  
"Gotcha." Inuyasha turned to retrieve a pair of glasses from the shelf and fill them from the tap while Sango leaned against the bar, giving her aching feet a much deserved rest.  
  
"God I'm tired. What time is it?" she asked.   
  
Inuyasha glanced up at the clock before turning back to the woman, beers in hand. "Midnight. Only two more hours," he said with a light smirk.  
  
She groaned, heaved the tray with its liquid cargo and gave him a weary, "See ya," as she set off to deliver the drinks.  
  
"Hey bartender, can I get another Manhattan?" someone called from down the bar and Inuyasha nodded, going to refill the woman's drink.  
  
The club was packed tonight, not surprising seeing as it was a Friday. People were milling about in between the tables, where others sat and talked with friends and strangers alike, laughing, flirting, trying to score a few points with the opposite sex. The dance floor was full to overflowing with gyrating bodies, moving to the beat of the music that pulsed throughout the relatively dark room, lit mainly by multi-colored lights and the occasional strobe.  
  
The distinctive sound of a slap came from the other end of the bar, and Inuyasha turned his head just in time to see Miroku nursing an injured cheek, the woman he'd apparently tried to grope storming off in a huff. The hanyou had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at his co-worker's plight. And to think the man's family had wanted him to become a Buddhist monk! _Idiot. When's he gonna learn that grabbing some chick's ass is not a good pick-up._  
  
"Inuyasha," Kagome's voice called him back to the present as she set her tray down on the bar.  
  
He turned to face her across the bar. "What is it, bitch."  
  
She shot him a glare, to which he only grinned in a self-satisfied sort of way. Tormenting 'little miss goody-two-shoes' had become his favorite pass time -- and she knew it. "Give me a scotch on the rocks with a twist, a strawberry daiquiri, and two bloody marys," she ground out, trying to keep a rein on her temper. She refused to let him win this round.  
  
"Quite the drinker, aren't we? Wouldn't want to see you do something you'd regret under the influence of such potent stuff..." he said, mockingly.  
  
"Shut up and fix the drinks, you jackass," her patience was wearing thin. He'd been at it all night.  
  
He smirked at her triumphantly, but did as she bade...slowly.  
  
"Come on, I don't have all night," she said impatiently, "I'm getting off early for a date."  
  
He snorted. "Feh, who'd you sucker into taking you out, bitch? And it's a bit late to be going out, don't you think? I mean, you wouldn't want to break curfew."  
  
She glowered dangerously at him, her resolve slipping. Placing both hands on the bar, she leaned over toward him as he put the drinks on the tray between them. "Listen you arrogant son of a bitch, that's none of your business. But if you must know, Hojo's taking me out after work, okay? And I do not have a curfew!"  
  
"Hojo?!" he scoffed, contemptuously, "That little runt of a waiter with the poofy hair? No wonder you don't have a curfew; you could be out all night with that bozo and your mother wouldn't worry a lick!"  
  
"Now just what the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?" she asked him suspiciously.  
  
"I mean the kids probably less 'experienced' than you are, if that's possible," he shot back.  
  
"Ooooh, you jackass! How dare you say something like that! For your information, I'm not some little child who's never had a date in her life! I've been out with men -- _real_ men. Nice men, who have more to offer a girl than a pretty face and, well, _that_. Unlike _some_ people I know."  
  
He scowled. This was getting personal. "Hey, I'm not just some pervert out to get laid all the time either. I'm not Miroku, you know!"  
  
"Ha! Getting laid seems to be all guys like you think about! That's why I make it a rule never to date arrogant hentai jerks like you." With that parting shot she hefted the tray and left the silver-haired hanyou fuming after her.  
  
"Bitch," he muttered under his breath, his mood turning sour as it often did after a conversation with Kagome. He'd lost again. The wench somehow had a way of turning every one of his victories into a defeat in the end. _Damn that little bitch_. Oooh how he'd love to make her eat those words of hers. Nothing could give him greater satisfaction.  
  
Inuyasha went on serving drinks as they were requested, and managed to push the argument to the back of his mind...most of the time. But due to his grouchy disposition, the minutes seemed to tick by at an agonizingly slow pace from then on. He needed someone to torment, someone upon which to unleash his pent up frustration.  
  
*slap*  
  
"Hentai!"  
  
It was like music to his ears. He'd know that voice anywhere. Apparently Miroku had made the mistake of trying to grope Sango yet again. At last, someone for him to harass!  
  
He ambled down the bar to where the would-be monk stood staring wistfully after the enraged waitress as she disappeared into the oscillating crowd.  
  
"Good one," he sneered.  
  
Miroku cocked an eyebrow at him and said sarcastically, in that perfect dead pan of his, "Thanks, I thought so."  
  
"Feh," Inuyasha smirked at his friend and crossed his arms, then shook his head disparagingly. "When are you gonna learn monk?"  
  
"Well its not as if you were doing much better. Wasn't it you that Kagome called a...what was it..." he frowned and scratched his chin as though deep in thought, "Ah yes, an 'arrogant hentai jackass,' just a little while ago?"  
  
The dog-demon glared at him, baring a fang, but Miroku merely continued to smile placidly. "It was 'jerk,' not 'jackass,'" he said menacingly.  
  
"Oh, well that's entirely different then," the man replied, amusement lighting his eyes.  
  
How did every conversation he had manage to turn against him? "What the hell does that little bitch know anyway? I'm still better off than you."  
  
"Is that so?" Miroku raised his eyebrows, "How would you like to put your money where your mouth is?"  
  
Inuyasha regarded his friend carefully. It was a well-known fact that Miroku was quite the con artist. Betting against him on anything was rarely a good idea. But then, Inuyasha was not exactly lauded for his shrewdness. His pride had a way of superseding his judgment. "How exactly?"  
  
"I'll give you two weeks. If, in that time, you can get a woman of my choosing to sleep with you -- willingly, of course -- I'll pay you...a hundred-and-fifty bucks. If not, you'll owe me the same."  
  
Inuyasha considered for a moment before saying, "Two hundred."  
  
"Done."  
  
"Who's the girl?" he questioned.  
  
"Kagome."  
  
The hanyou's eyes widened, "What! Fuck that, I'm not-" but he paused, glancing out across the crowd to where the woman in question was taking down another order. _'That's why I make it a rule never to date arrogant hentai jerks like you...'_ The words echoed in his memory, and an evil sort of grin crept across his face as a plan began to form in the back of his mind.  
  
He turned back to Miroku. "You're on."  
  
* * *  
  
Kagome untied her apron and slipped it into her locker in the back room of the club. She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. _Mmm, do I really have to go out tonight? I'm so tired..._  
  
As if in answer to her question, Hojo soon appeared in the doorway. "You ready Higurashi?"  
  
"Coming Hojo," she answered, carefully hiding her fatigue and grabbing her purse, before closing the locker. Then she fixed a smile on her face and turned to join him. They made their way out the back exit, to avoid the crowds still entering and leaving the club, and onto the street.  
  
"So, where do you want to go?" he asked as they strolled down the sidewalk. The area was still pretty crowded, even at this hour, as they were in the 'nightlife' district of Tokyo, where all the popular nightclubs were. Groups and couples, many of them already drunk to varying degrees, made their way from bar to bar, and their voices mingled with the muffled sounds of music coming from within each of the many buildings.  
  
"Someplace quiet," she replied, and he smiled at her, completely understanding her reasoning.  
  
"I agree. Funny, ever since I started working at that club I find I never really want to go to one for fun anymore. I get enough of it, you know?"  
  
"Believe me, I know. I've been working there even longer than you, remember? Right now I just want to have something to eat and put my feet up for awhile," she said, leaning into him a bit more.  
  
"How about we pick up some chinese from this all night place I know of and then go back to my place and watch a movie?" he suggested.  
  
Recalling her conversation earlier with Inuyasha, she paused to look at the man appraisingly. But all she saw was an innocent offer; there was no sign of any 'ulterior motive,' so she smiled and said, "Sounds perfect."  
  
* * *  
  
Inuyasha turned the key in the lock, making his way back into his apartment around three a.m. The club had closed at two, but it had been his and Miroku's turn to clean and lock the place up for the night. It wasn't too bad really -- it only took them about forty-five minutes -- but by the time he got home the hanyou was dead tired.  
  
His apartment wasn't large; it consisted mainly of a hardwood-floored living room with a big, comfy couch, an overstuffed armchair, and a television. Off to the left side of the room, as you come in the door, was a dining table. The couch faced three windows along the brick outer wall of the building, directly across from the door. Behind the couch was a small kitchen, separated from the living room by only a counter. Just to the left when facing the kitchen was a bathroom, and on the left-hand wall was the door to the bedroom. It was nothing fancy, but it suited him and the rent was good.  
  
He slung his jacket over the back of the couch and sank into it, leaning his head back and seriously considering just falling asleep right there. Thank god he didn't have to work at all tomorrow. But the thought of work reminded him suddenly of the plan he'd begun to conceive earlier that night, the plan to finally beat the smug smiles off both Kagome and Miroku, and he found himself wide awake.  
  
Getting up from the couch he walked into the bedroom, narrowing his eyes in thought as he struggled to remember where he'd put it. It had been years since he'd used the thing; frankly he hadn't been able to think of a very good reason to -- until now.  
  
Finally it came to him and he went to his closet to begin fishing around the upper shelves for that old wooden lockbox he'd put it in. He had to step on the bottom shelf in order to reach the back of the very top, but he was soon rewarded when his hand brushed the dusty wooden surface of the box. In his haste to grab at it, however, his grip on the shelves failed and he fell spectacularly on his ass, along with most of the contents of the closet.  
  
"Sonofa- dammit," he grumbled, rubbing his head where it had hit the floor and picking himself up from the mess. He looked irritably at the pile of junk now covering his floor, but made a dismissive gesture and muttered impatiently, "Oh hell, I'll clean it up later."  
  
Ignoring the mess, he took a seat on his bed, putting the lockbox in front of him. As he reached for the dial on the front to unlock it, he cursed with a sudden thought.  
  
"Fuck, I don't remember the combination." At once he dropped the box and got up to pace. Wasn't it 22-34-16? No, no that was his locker combination at work. 221-78-8368? Nope, social security number. 579-9232? No, that was that chick's phone number -- which reminded him, he should probably call her back someday. Dammit, what was it?  
  
In a fit of frustration he sat down again and grabbed the box to shake it. But when he did so, the lid flipped up easily -- apparently he'd forgotten to lock it last time.  
  
_Grrr_, "Why the fuck didn't you do that when I fell off the shelves?" he growled at it, not really expecting an answer. After all, he was talking to a box -- it was very late at night.  
  
Thankfully, the box did not reply -- it wasn't quite _that_ late at night. Inuyasha proceeded to open the little compartments until finally he found the thing he was looking for.  
  
It was small, and at first glance seemed hardly worth all the trouble he'd gone through to find it, but the hanyou knew better. The little ring, given to him by his mother when he was very young, had embedded within it a shard of the Shikon no Tama, which gave it some very special properties. He smiled almost menacingly at the plain gold band, strung on a simple chain, since it was too small to fit on his finger. But to wear it around his neck would be sufficient for his purposes.  
  
He stood and crossed the room to face the mirrored dresser opposite. Once there he slipped the chain over his head and pulled his hair through it. All at once he could feel the change beginning to take place. It was a strange sort of tingling sensation, but he was used to it by now. After all he experienced it once a month with or without the ring, whether he liked it or not. He watched triumphantly as black seeped down his normally silver hair from the roots and his amber eyes dissolved into a deep brown. Holding his hands out before him, he observed his claws as they shrank to regular, blunt human nails, and finally the pointed ears on top of his head slipped down to the sides and morphed into human ones. Perfect.  
  
Inuyasha had always kept the secret of his transformation closely guarded, so he had certainly never told Kagome about it. With the help of the ring, he could change back and forth as he pleased. There was no way she would be able to recognize him like this. He would be able to charm her easily, without concern for her dislike toward him. And when she found out who she'd been with...  
  
He smirked at his human reflection. It was the ultimate revenge.  
  
"I guess this thing came in handy after all."  
  
* * *  
  
Kagome blinked awake and squinted against the morning light shining through the curtains. For a moment she didn't remember where she was or why she was sleeping sitting up with her head resting on someone's shoulder, but then she recalled her date with Hojo the night before and realized she must have fallen asleep during the movie.  
  
With a yawn she lifted her head to sit up and stretch out her cramping legs, which had been curled beneath her all night. She smiled back at the young man sleeping with his chin on his chest, one arm on the back of the couch where she had been before. _He's such a sweet guy_, she thought fondly. _Too bad I'm not all that attracted to him. I really should be -- we had such a nice time -- but I don't know; there's just something missing.   
_  
When she stood up to stretch, her shifting weight caused the man to stir awake as well and he yawned too, looking up at her sleepily.  
  
"Hey," he said with a smile.  
  
She smiled back. "Why didn't you wake me up?"  
  
"Well you just looked so peaceful I didn't want to disturb you. Besides, the movie was almost over and I figured you'd wake up when it ended." He looked somewhat sheepishly at her, "I guess I fell asleep too. Sorry."  
  
"That's okay, I don't mind," she replied sweetly. "I should get going, okay? Thanks though, this was fun."  
  
He nodded and stood up. "I had fun too. Maybe we could go out again sometime -- perhaps on a night when we don't work."  
  
"Mm-hmm," she murmured noncommittally, "Maybe." She gathered her purse and jacket and he walked her to the door.  
  
"See you later," he said with a wave, and she answered with another smile and nod.  
  
"Bye." When the door had closed behind her, the smile slipped into a more thoughtful expression. _What's wrong with me?_ she thought. _Why don't I want to go out with him again? I mean he's nice and honorable and intelligent -- he even has money, not that that really matters, but still. Why am I not interested?_  
  
Once she was out on the street, she turned right to head back to her place. Soon her pondering on Hojo led her to a slightly different and far less welcome train of thought.  
  
_At least Hojo's not so possessive and domineering, like Kouga always was. I can't believe I put up with that for an entire year. Sure he was handsome and strong and quite smart, but that attitude of his was unbearable. And then he had the gall to dump me! He was the reason I resolved only to date nice guys from now on -- guys like Hojo. Maybe if I give the guy a chance he'll start to grow on me...or maybe I should just give up on men altogether. Seems like they're all either sweet but dull, or interesting but obnoxious. What's a girl supposed to do?  
  
If only there were someone in between...  
_  
* * *

A/N: Bet you can't guess what I'm gonna say next!

(everyone in unison): Please review!

Hey, how'd you know? All right, who told?!


	2. Getting to Know You

Author's Note: Wow, I'm so sorry that took so long but I've had kind of a week from hell. I know, I know, I won't bore you, but suffice it to say that term is ending (meaning I'm really busy), I have a cold, I'm in rehearsal for a show, and I have to sing in a contest on Monday. I wanted to update last weekend but it was either this or MIA, and it was MIA's turn next. Anyway, I'll try not to take so long again, but I'll be out of town next weekend so if I don't get a chance to update before I leave it'll take me until the middle of next week. But that's spring break, so maybe I can get a few chapters done to make up for it!

    Anyway, glad to hear people are enjoying it, and never fear; I don't abandon fics, period. At least not ones I post! ;)

Alter Ego 

Chapter 2: Getting to Know You

    Miroku handed the couple their beers with a smile and went back to the other end of the bar to check on his co-worker.  
  
"You doing alright here Kagome?" It was her first time tending bar. Since it was Inuyasha's night off someone else had to fill in for him, and Kikyo, their boss, had suggested that Kagome might be ready to give it a try.  
  
"Mm," she nodded, her attention currently concentrated on the drink she was mixing. He smiled reassuringly and returned to his end of the bar. But not without sneaking a surreptitious look at Kagome's backside on the way.  
  
He glanced around the room, surveying the crowd for any lovely females he might want to pursue when he was off duty. As his eyes swept past the entryway he did a double-take. Was that...Inuyasha who just walked in? He squinted slightly, trying to confirm his suspicion. _In human form?_  
  
Miroku raised a stunned eyebrow at his friend as he approached the bar, a smug look on his face.  
  
"Inuyasha? What the hell are you doing? And what's with the hair -- this isn't the new moon."  
  
"Shhh," Inuyasha quieted him, casting a quick glance to see that Kagome was out of earshot and distracted. Then he brought his attention back to Miroku. "What do you think I'm doing? Kagome despises me as _me_, but she doesn't know about my human form. I've got this ring that turns me human even without the new moon, so I just-"  
  
"Hey, that's cheating," Miroku said indignantly.  
  
"You didn't say anything about having to be in my usual form, only that she had to be willing," Inuyasha countered.  
  
The brown-haired man shook his head with a roll of his eyes and a slight smile. "Fine, ya got me. But even in your human form you don't have a chance with her. You have all the finesse of a bull in a china shop."  
  
"Feh! We'll see about that, monk." And with that, Inuyasha turned and sauntered on up toward Kagome's end of the bar, looking for all the world like a predator going in for the kill.  
  
He casually took a seat at the bar, leaning one elbow on it as he glanced at the people surrounding.   
  
"Can I get you anything?"  
  
He had to stop himself from smirking evilly when that oh-so-familiar female voice sounded beside him. Instead, he selected a comfortably charming expression and turned fully to face her with a winning smile.  
  
"Yes please, can I have a scotch on the rocks?"  
  
She smiled back at him brightly. "Absolutely. Coming right up."  
  
His eyes flashed momentarily with triumph that she had failed to recognize him, but her gaze was averted in fixing his drink so she didn't see it. "So, been working here long?" he asked in a friendly sort of way.  
  
She looked up for a moment, then replied, "Mm, a few months. Never seen you in here before, I don't think."  
  
"Oh, I've been here once or twice, but I don't think I've seen you either. I'm pretty sure I would remember someone as lovely as you." The last bit was accompanied with an innocently attractive grin, though it masked a revolted scoff in his mind. _Keh, right bitch...or maybe just because you're annoying as hell._  
  
She laughed lightly and smiled a bit brighter. "Thanks, that's sweet."  
  
_ At least she seems to be buying it..._  
  
"It's true! Thank you," he said as she handed him his scotch. "What's your name?"  
  
Considering him for a moment, she seemed to satisfy herself he was alright. "Kagome. What's yours?"  
  
"My name?" Hmmm, he probably should have thought of that sooner, but he'd been a bit preoccupied with the whole 'turning human to mask his appearance' thing. Quickly he cast about for a suitable name and blurted out the first one that came to mind. "Ryoga." _Ryoga?! What are you, some kind of fucking idiot?_  
  
She tilted her head curiously, "Isn't that the name of that guy from-"  
  
"Ranma 1/2? Yeah, I get that a lot." _Of all the stupid...why couldn't you pick a normal name you idiot?_ But he continued to smile amiably despite his inner monologue's ranting.  
  
"It's rather unusual, don't you think?"  
  
"I suppose, but it works for me," he said lightly.  
  
"I like that," she replied, leaning forward on the bar. The place was beginning to clear out since it was getting close to closing, so not many people required her assistance. She was glad of that, because quite frankly there was something about this man that drew her to him. He seemed...nice. But more than that he seemed interesting and confident. Perhaps it was possible to find that middle ground after all...  
  
Inuyasha took another sip of his drink while she pondered. "So, what do you do when you're not serving drinks?" he asked.  
  
To that she gave a short laugh. "Not much, unfortunately. I'm afraid I don't have much of a life at the moment. I take classes at the university from time to time, but I don't study full-time anymore."  
  
"Anymore? Why not?"  
  
"Can't afford it, since..." she trailed off looking away and clearing her throat.  
  
Inuyasha was curious in spite of himself. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Mm, nothing. But how about you? What do you do?"  
  
Ah, yet another thing he should have considered. Obviously he couldn't tell her the truth. "I, uh, work in public relations."  
  
"Public relations? What exactly is that?" she frowned curiously.  
  
"It's uh," he coughed slightly, "Well, I deal with people and help them get what they need." _God, that description makes it sound like I'm a pimp or something._ Luckily she didn't seem to catch the double meaning, taking it only as intended...however that was. Quite frankly, Inuyasha had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, but the woman seemed convinced so far.  
  
More to change the subject than anything else, Inuyasha said, "Hey, you want to go get something to eat somewhere?"  
  
She bit her lip, thinking. It was not generally her policy to go out with strange men she met in the bar, but this guy seemed nice enough. And besides, there was just something about him. Maybe it was the way he held himself, or the timbre of his voice, but something about him caught her attention, almost as if she'd met him before.  
  
Finally she came to a decision and smiled. "Alright. I'd like that."  
  
He smiled back, but inside he was laughing to himself. _Like a moth to a flame..._  
  
* * *  
  
"So there I was," she said, laughing lightly, "in the middle of nowhere with my suitcase and about ten bucks in my purse, and the stupid ATM ate my credit card!"  
  
They both laughed at that. "I was terrified!" she continued. "Augh, I was such a spoiled little brat back then; I couldn't do a thing for myself."  
  
"Well, with rich parents how else could you be expected to turn out?" Inuyasha volunteered with an amused smile, observing her across the table in the little all-night diner they'd discovered. The place was pretty much empty, except for the single person working night shift in the kitchen.  
  
She cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow and smiling wryly back at him. "I suppose you're right. That's why I decided I had to get out on my own, make a living for myself awhile."  
  
"Is that why you quit school?"  
  
Her smile slipped slightly and she lowered her eyes to her milkshake, stirring it idly with her straw. "Part of it, yeah."  
  
He frowned slightly, curious about her change in attitude. "What's the other part?"  
  
She flicked her gaze up to his, then back down to her shake, with a slight shrug. "It's nothing really. I mean, I probably blew the whole thing out of proportion, but...I just couldn't stay there after..."  
  
"After what?" he prompted, honestly curious.  
  
She sighed, looking out the window, resigning herself to telling the whole story. "I was studying at the University of Kyoto, and I was living with this guy named Kouga -- my boyfriend at the time. We'd been going out for about a year and even sort of talked about marriage a couple times. Anyway, apparently he fell for this other girl, so he dumped me." Again she dropped her gaze to the table.   
  
"I stayed for awhile, but it was too hard for me to see them together. And what really killed me was that when we were together he had always been so possessive and controlling, and then he went off and left me for someone else. I mean, he would literally growl at any guy who came within three feet of me. What a two-timing hypocrite.  
  
"Anyway, my father would only pay for my schooling as long as I stayed in Kyoto, but I just couldn't take it anymore, so I left. I'd been thinking about trying to get out on my own anyway, and after the thing with Kouga...well, it all just sort of piled up. I needed a different life."  
  
Inuyasha watched her as she spoke, entranced. He felt oddly protective of her, wanting to go find this Kouga and beat the crap out of him for hurting her so badly -- but wait, this was Kagome he was talking about. He mentally shook himself, recalling their conversation from the night before and effectively squelching the protective instinct. _Bitch -- she probably deserved it_, he tried to tell himself, but only really managed to make himself feel guilty for thinking such a thing. _Oh crap_, he thought. _This could get trickier.  
_  
Kagome glanced at her watch and winced. "It's late," she said, stirring Inuyasha from his troubled thoughts.  
  
"Mm, you're right. I'll walk you home," he offered with an easy smile, masking his uneasy disposition.  
  
He paid the check, being the chivalrous gentleman that he was, and they headed out onto the street. They walked in comfortable silence for a while, each caught up in thought.  
  
_I can't make a move tonight_, Inuyasha pondered calculatingly. _She'd never go for that, I know. That's the key, Miroku; go slow and make it seem like that's the furthest thing from your mind._ He smirked inwardly, his earlier sympathies for her being won over with renewal of his plan.  
  
_Why do I feel like I know him?_ she thought, curiously. _It's weird, but I just feel so comfortable around him. For god's sake, the only other person I told about Kouga was Sango. I don't know...I just don't know..._  
  
Before long they came upon a relatively small apartment building and Kagome slowed to a stop. "This is me," she said, indicating the building.  
  
He turned to face her with an honest smile. "I had a really nice time tonight," he said, though he tried not to think about how true it was. "Do you think it'd be alright if I asked you out again sometime?" _God, I sound like such a weakling. Like I have to ask permission..._ he thought irritably. But girls liked stuff like that.  
  
Obviously he'd calculated correctly, because Kagome's smile brightened at his question. _How sweet,_ she cooed mentally. "I'd like that very much, Ryoga." She bit her lip for a moment, then on an impulse, she leaned up and kissed him.  
  
He was slightly surprised by her boldness, though the kiss wasn't deep or passionate, only light and sweet, and relatively short. Even more, however, he was surprised by his reaction to it. He'd kissed a lot of women over the years, and done a good deal more than kissing with several of them, but never had he felt quite like this. There was a sort of tingling sensation in the pit of his stomach, which confused him, to say the least. For fuck's sake, this was _Kagome_, the bitch who made every day of his life a living hell, and vice versa. But before long she broke the kiss, and with a smile, turned to go inside.   
  
"Bye," she murmured.  
  
"Bye," he replied somewhat absently, his mind warring with itself over what had just happened. When she was out of sight, a frustrated scowl appeared on his face. "Bitch," he mumbled grumpily as he set off toward his own apartment.  
  
* * *  
  
Sango eyed her friend as Kagome swept around the empty club, singing to herself while she wiped down the tables in preparation for the evening's business. "Okay, I give up. What's gotten into you?"  
  
"Hmm?" Kagome looked up, a silly sort of smile on her face. "Oh nothing, really."  
  
Sango wasn't fooled for a second. She approached the other woman, hands on her hips. "Yeah, right. Come on, you've been humming like an idiot for the past two days. Spill it, Kag."  
  
The dark haired waitress glanced around as if to make sure no one else was listening, then met her friend's suspicious gaze. "Alright fine."  
  
At this Sango flashed a grin and took a seat, eagerly waiting for Kagome to do the same.  
  
"See, a couple of nights ago -- Saturday, I think -- this guy came in here and, well, we got to talking a bit and he asked if I wanted to get something to eat, so we went to a diner after work. He's so great! We had a wonderful conversation and, I don't know, I just felt like he was really listening to me. I even told him about Kouga."  
  
Sango raised her eyebrows, "Really? Ah, that's wonderful! Has he called you or anything?"  
  
Kagome bit her lip, trying to hide a grin as she nodded. "Mmhmm, we went out again last night. He's just such a sweetheart," she said dreamily, then laughed self-consciously, putting a hand to her forehead. "God, I sound like a schoolgirl with a crush, but I can't help it. I mean, have you ever been with someone and gotten this feeling that you belonged there? Like you were, I don't know, meant for each other? Ack, now I really sound stupid."  
  
"No, no, I totally know what you mean," Sango said, waving her hands. Then she leaned on the table, cocking an eyebrow. "Look at it this way; at least you've fallen for someone who sees you for more than your body." At that her eyes took on a sort of wry, longing look and shifted off beyond her friend.  
  
Kagome followed the woman's gaze across the room to Miroku, who was completely unaware of the attention he was receiving. She turned back to Sango, whose smile had become rueful. Kagome gave her a look of sympathy, saying, "Hey, he'll come around eventually. I'm sure he does care about you, deep down."  
  
Sango shook her head, looking skeptical. "It's not his fault; it's mine. I just had to fall head over heals for a hentai bartender, didn't I?" She quickly waved the subject aside. "But that's not the point right now. Tell me more about-"  
  
She cut off abruptly when the sound of a door opening and closing nearby reached their ears. They both looked over to see that Kikyo had just entered the room, so, not wanting to risk being fired for sitting around chatting, they stood to return to work.  
  
"We'll talk later, okay?" Sango said with a grin.  
  
Kagome nodded, returning the gesture.  
  
* * *  
  
Inuyasha pulled out Kagome's chair for her once they had been led to their table, then took a seat himself across from her. The waiter handed them each their menus and listed the specials for the evening, before giving a short bow and leaving. Kagome was really only half listening to it all, so caught up was she in the elegantly romantic atmosphere of the place, not to mention the eyes of the man sitting directly opposite her.  
  
"This is beautiful, Ryoga," she said with a smile, which he returned.  
  
"Glad you like it. I thought it made a nice change from that little diner we've been going to in the middle of the night," he said, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
Her lilting laughter floated on the air like music. "Yeah, this is probably a step up." She opened her menu, beginning to scan its contents. "So what are you going to have?"  
  
He tore his eyes from her face, scolding himself mentally as he did so for staring in the first place, and looked at his menu as well. "Mmm, I don't know."  
  
"Ooooh, look, they have veal parmigiana," she said longingly. "I love veal parmigiana."  
  
"Why don't you get it then?"  
  
"Augh, don't tempt me. Besides, it's so expensive."  
  
"Feh, that's no problem."  
  
Her eyes snapped up, narrowing on his face. "What did you just say?"  
  
His insides froze and a string of mental curses rattled off in his brain. "Uh," he began, not looking up from his menu, "I said it was no problem."  
  
"No, I mean right before that, I thought I heard you say...nevermind," she finished with a shake of her head. _Really, it can't be that uncommon, can it? But I would have sworn he sounded just like Inuyasha a moment ago._  
  
"I think I will have the veal," she said. "Want to split it with me?"  
  
"Sure," he answered, relieved that she had dropped the 'feh' thing. When the waiter returned they ordered the meal, along with a bottle of wine, and handed back their menus. Once he had left again, Kagome turned back to her date, leaning her elbows on the table.  
  
"So Ryoga, where did you grow up? I mean, I've told you stuff about my life, but I feel like I don't really know that much about yours."  
  
Inuyasha felt a wave of dread wash over him. On the dates they'd had so far he'd managed to keep the conversation focused on her for the most part -- that way he could be the 'sensitive,' 'good listener' type of guy that women always fawned over. He'd been afraid of this. Oh well, best stick as close to the truth as possible.  
  
"I grew up here in Tokyo."  
  
"So your parents live here then?"  
  
He shook his head. "Nope, not anymore. They both passed away."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said with a sympathetic look in her eyes that made his heart skip a beat -- much to his annoyance.  
  
"It's okay, really. Happened a long time ago. I've been pretty much on my own since then, except for my older brother," he added, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice at the mention of Sesshomaru.  
  
"You don't get along, I take it?" she inquired.  
  
He gave a short laugh, "No, not exactly. Were half-brothers actually -- same father, different mothers. That's kind of where it all starts I guess. Sesshomaru never really approved of my mother, who married Dad after Sess' mother left them. Then my mother died in a car accident when I was really young and Dad got sick and passed on a few years later. Sess was a lot older than me so he took care of me after that, but only because Dad had made him promise to do so before he died. He provided for me, much to his dismay, until I was eighteen, then kicked me out."  
  
"That's awful," Kagome said in a hushed voice. "But why did he hate you so much, even if he didn't like your mother?"  
  
Inuyasha thought for a moment, staring into space as he considered the question, then bringing his eyes back to hers. "I guess maybe he was jealous of me for taking his place with Dad. And it sure didn't help that I'm a han-" he cut of abruptly, catching himself in the nick of time. _Oh shit, I almost said 'hanyou.' Great genius, why not just blow the whole damn thing while you're at it?  
_  
She frowned slightly in confusion, cocking her head to one side, "A what?"  
  
"Uh, nothing."  
  
"No really, what were you going to say?" she pressed on.  
  
"Well, um, it didn't help that I'm...so handsome," he invented. _Ugh. Fuck, can't you think of anything better than that?_  
  
"Oh... Is your brother not so good looking then?" she asked, amused at the embarrassment on his face.  
  
He just barely managed to hold back another 'feh.' "No, not at all," he said bluntly. _Though oddly enough most women seem to think he is. Feh, what do they know?_  
  
She nodded, the amused expression not leaving her face. "I see," she said, while inwardly thinking that she'd like to meet this Sesshomaru someday, out of curiosity; somehow she thought that Ryoga's opinion of his brother might be slightly biased. But he sure was adorable when he was flustered like this.  
  
* * *

A/N: Ahh, done! Okay, now let's see if I can get MIA posted this weekend too (that's my goal)…

Review, please! It motivates me to no end!


	3. The Clark Complex

Author's Notes: Well, luckily it didn't take as long for me to revise this chapter as I was afraid it would, so yay! I'm really glad people are getting into this story (and think my jokes are funny! Whew, that's a relief. Drama comes a bit more easily to me than comedy. I love to write villains!). Btw, I'm anticipating about seven chapters (give or take) as far as length, just FYI. This is one of my shorter stories.

    In case you're wondering, yes, my cold is gone and the stress is off…until tomorrow that is, when school starts again. But I'm done with AP so it shouldn't be nearly as bad. Oh, and even with my cold I managed to get a superior (the highest rating) at the vocal solo contest. Pretty cool, huh? Now if I can just get in to the All-State Choir…(fingers crossed)

    As always thank you so much for taking the time to review! They really make my day. Just a couple of brief responses:

Akutenchi: Glad you like it! The story line was inspired by elements from some of my favorite romantic comedies like You've Got Mail and Sabrina, plus a tiny bit of Lois and Clark, and placed in a setting of my own creation. The idea started out a bit different, under the working title Prince Charming, but eventually evolved into this.

Anngel From Hell: Nope, in this story Kag doesn't know Sess is Inu's brother because they hate each other and have never really had a conversation about that kind of thing. You're right though that this is different from the Inuyasha canon.

Soul of Kagome: My story? To die for? Cool! I know what you mean about a bunch of fics ending recently. Dead Famous was my favorite and it's over now (sniff, sniff)!

Fallen-Snow: I updated MIA twice this week, plus this one! Aren't you proud of me?

    Okay, as much as I love to talk, I don't want to go overboard here so please, read and enjoy!

Alter Ego

Chapter 3: The Clark Complex

Inuyasha shoved through the door into the employees' room behind the bar and headed toward his locker to put away his coat.  
  
"Hey there, good buddy," Miroku said from behind him in a cheerful voice which was carefully calculated to annoy the hanyou, and the dog-eared young man jumped in surprise, whirling to face him.  
  
"Jesus, monk, what the hell did you sneak up on me like that for?!" Inuyasha snapped, scowling at the mocking grin the man was flashing at him.  
  
He shrugged casually in response. "Just for fun. I'm easily amused."  
  
"Well I'm not," the hanyou grumbled, turning back to his locker.  
  
"So, how are things going with the lovely Miss Kagome? Have you made any progress?" Miroku prodded, eyes flashing mischievously as Inuyasha's head snapped to the door, making sure the woman in question wasn't within earshot.  
  
He then turned a glare on Miroku. "What are you trying to do, give me away?"  
  
"Relax, she's not even here yet. If I'm not mistaken you two have been together for about a week, haven't you?" he taunted. "Time's running out..."  
  
Inuyasha growled in frustration at his friend's smug expression. "Hey, I've got everything under control, okay? She's putty in my hands; don't you worry your pretty little head about it. I'll have that woman in the sack by the end of the week, so you better start trying to figure out how to get your hands on two-hundred bucks."  
  
"Whatever you say, Inuyasha," Miroku replied patronizingly.  
  
* * *  
  
Kagome was humming some song she couldn't quite remember the name of as she rounded the end of the bar, headed for the locker room. All of a sudden she stopped short, catching the sound of conversation from within.  
  
"Time's running out..." said a voice she recognized as Miroku's.  
  
She frowned slightly, moving closer in order to hear better. She knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but her curiosity overrode her conscience in this case when Inuyasha growled irritably, speaking next.  
  
"Hey, I've got everything under control, okay? She's putty in my hands; don't you worry your pretty little head about it. I'll have that woman in the sack by the end of the week, so you better start trying to figure out how to get your hands on two-hundred bucks."  
  
Kagome's face contorted in increasing disgust as Inuyasha spoke. _Of all the revolting, despicable, appalling things!_ she thought. _They actually bet money on whether or not he can get some poor sap to sleep with him?! What jackasses!_  
  
"Whatever you say, Inuyasha," came Miroku's voice, followed by footsteps approaching the door. Not wanting to be caught listening in on their conversation, Kagome quickly and quietly tiptoed back toward the door, contriving to look as though she had just arrived.  
  
"Hey there, Kagome," Miroku greeted her with a casual smile as he appeared from the back room.  
  
Kagome responded with a somewhat strained smile and a somewhat cold, "Hi."  
  
He eyed her curiously. "Something wrong?"  
  
She shook her head. "No, I just have a bit of a headache I guess. Nothing serious."  
  
"Okay," he replied, not entirely convinced, but left it at that.  
  
A moment later Inuyasha emerged from the back room, eyes widening slightly when he caught sight of Kagome brushing past him to put her things away, though she took no notice of him, it seemed. He quickly got a hold of himself and returning to his usual expression. When she returned to the main room of the bar he got the distinct impression that she was ignoring him on purpose, as though she were angry with him. Could she have overheard them? But surely she would do more than simply ignore him if she knew...  
  
Unbeknownst to either of them as they proceeded to prepare the club for opening, they were both being watched by Miroku -- especially Inuyasha. The man smirked mischievously to himself at the unconscious look of guilt that played across the hanyou's face from time to time, whenever he glanced in the direction of the ebony-haired waitress. He suspected that even Inuyasha had no idea how much she was getting to him.  
  
_Ah, even if I lose this bet it will have been worth it just to see what happens!_  
  
* * *  
  
Kagome inspected herself in the mirror once more, patting at her hair, which was swept up behind her head, and smoothing the simple, black, sleeveless dress she had chosen, before leaving the bedroom to answer the door. A smile lit her face when she revealed the handsome, dark-haired young man outside in the hallway, dressed in a stylish black suit and grey-blue shirt, tieless, with the top two buttons undone.  
  
"Man you're a sight for sore eyes," she said before giving him a light 'hello' kiss and grabbing her coat and purse.  
  
"Ready to go?" he asked with a smile.  
  
"Yup," she nodded, taking his proffered arm and closing the door behind her as they moved out into the hallway and down the steps.  
  
"So," he began as he held the outside door open for her to exit onto the sidewalk. Funny how he was sort of getting used to these little courtesies now. He didn't even have to think about it anymore. "How was your day?"  
  
"Ugh, I don't even want to talk about it," she groaned, slipping her hand into his and falling in step beside him. "Men are pigs; present company excluded of course," she added with a playful grin, which he returned. But inwardly he was beginning to get a feeling of foreboding knotting in his stomach.  
  
"What makes you say that?" he asked, careful to keep his voice casual.  
  
She sighed. "Well, I know I shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but I overheard these two guys I work with talking about something today that really pissed me off."  
  
His insides froze, but he reasoned with himself that if she actually knew he'd probably be in a great deal of pain at this moment. She damn sure wouldn't be letting him take her out to dinner at least.  
  
"I mean one of them is a womanizing pervert, I knew that already, and the other is basically the scum of the earth, but even I never thought they could sink so low."  
  
His jaw clenched for an instant, a burst of indignation flashing through him at her referral to him as "the scum of the earth," but he suppressed his temper in favor of pursuing the more important matter. "What did they say?" he inquired, contriving to sound merely curious, as opposed to panicked.  
  
"Would you believe I heard them talking about betting money on whether or not the second guy could trick some poor woman into sleeping with him?" she said, appalled.  
  
He managed to act surprised and even work a hint of disgust into his own voice. "You're kidding. Really?"  
  
She gave a short laugh. "I wish I were. God help any woman who would have a bad enough self image to sleep with Inuyasha," she spat. _Ouch..._ he thought moodily. _Don't knock it 'til you've tried it._ "Guess some women aren't as lucky as I am," she said, nudging against him fondly, slipping an arm around his waist to lean against him.  
  
"Yeah," was all he could say as he encircled her waist as well, his mid swimming with conflicting thoughts. On the one hand he resented her rants about 'Inuyasha,' but another part of him was inclined to simply enjoy being near her like this. Yet another part warned him that everything she had said was probably justified -- that was the part he wanted to ignore for the time being. But her words echoed in his mind. _'God help any woman who would have a low enough self image to sleep with Inuyasha.'  
  
Oh holy fuck... _he thought, frustrated.  
  
* * *  
  
A slap echoed throughout the empty club.  
  
"Houshi-sama, if you grab me again with that hand of yours you're going to lose it!" Sango fumed. Miroku only grinned innocently at the fire in her eyes, massaging his abused cheek.  
  
"Come now, Sango. No need to get upset," he said, obviously enjoying himself, which only served to infuriate her further.  
  
"You jackass! Why can't you just grow up and stop being such a pervert! What, you think it's cute?! You think women like it when you treat them like objects to be petted and played with at your leisure? Fuck you, Miroku!" she yelled, slamming the tray she'd been holding down on the counter and storming away toward the side door, which led into the alley.  
  
The man could do nothing but stare after her, taken aback. As long as he'd known her they'd played this little game of theirs -- he groped her, she slapped him, everyone was happy. But never in all that time had he seen her get so upset over it. It confused him, to say the least. Suddenly it didn't seem like a game anymore.  
  
"What just happened?" he mused quietly, glancing around with a puzzled expression furrowing his brow. "Did I miss something?"  
  
* * *  
  
Meanwhile, out in the dimly-lit alley, Sango paced back and forth, blinking back the tears of frustration that threatened to overwhelm her. Her breath came in sharp, uneven gasps, a lump forming in her throat. She looked around helplessly, not sure what to do with herself now that she was here. She felt...trapped. There was no way she could go back inside and face him after that, yet she couldn't just leave either. She didn't even have enough money for cab fare in her pockets, and besides, she had a job to do.  
  
"Damn you, Miroku," the woman muttered weakly, and frustration welled up inside her again, causing her to swing a kick at a nearby trash can. "Damn you!"  
  
She listened to the clatter of metal against concrete as the trash barrel toppled over, rolling across the narrow alley to crash against the wall opposite and bounce back toward her. That was when the tears came. It was always like that with him -- always. Everything she said and did only came bouncing back at her, not making the slightest dent. He was so oblivious to the way his actions tore her up inside, so tauntingly aloof. No matter how many times she tried to make him understand, he remained completely and utterly clueless.  
  
She sniffed a bit, her tears subsiding, and heaved a sigh, shaking her head. "This is ridiculous," she muttered in a voice that wobbled only slightly, wiping her eyes. "I've got to pull my self together and get over this. He's never going to change." She let out a short, wry laugh when a thought occurred to her. "Maybe I should have him fired for sexual harassment."  
  
But even as she thought it she knew she wouldn't do it. It would be better all around if she were the one to leave. That was it; she'd quit her job. It's not like waitressing in some club was her lifelong dream anyway. Perhaps this was just what the doctor ordered to jump-start her career. She could go back to writing free-lance, give journalism another try.  
  
Then it was settled. She would give Kikyo her notice right away.  
  
"Sango..."  
  
She jumped, whirling around at the sound of Miroku's voice, which was uncharacteristically contrite. She hadn't even heard him approach. But the look in his eyes, one of confusion and apology, made every other thought fly from her head.  
  
"Sango," he began again, at a loss as to what to say. "I...I wanted to apologize, I guess. Apparently I upset you, but what I don't understand is how."  
  
She eyed him incredulously. "You really have no idea, do you," the woman mused, a soft, self-deprecating laugh escaping her. "Well I guess that pretty much clinches it, doesn't it. Don't worry about it, Miroku. I'm leaving." And with that she brushed past him back through the doorway to go find Kikyo.  
  
But he wasn't about to let her go so easily. "Leaving?" he questioned, trailing after her. "What do you mean, 'leaving'?"  
  
She stopped, turning back to face him, frustration creeping into her voice once more. "Just what I said, dumbass, I'm leaving. As in 'quitting my job and moving away.' Is that clear enough for you?" She tried to continue on her way, but Miroku caught her by the arm, forcing her to face him.  
  
"You're what?" he demanded, a note of urgency in his tone. "Because of me? Jesus, Sango, why didn't you say something?! I had no idea-"  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa -- why didn't I say something?!" she interjected. "What do you think 'get your hands off me, pervert' means?! I've tried and tried to get you to realize...but you and your damn groping and...and flirting, and...I mean you just never listened!"  
  
He released her arm putting a hand to his forehead in thought. When he spoke again his voice was thick with remorse. "God, I'm so sorry, Sango. I...I guess I just thought of it as a game, y'know?"  
  
She swallowed heavily. "I know. That's the worst part. It was a game for you, but..." Looking away, she couldn't bring herself to complete that thought. Instead she walked over to the bar and leaned against it, not sure what to do next.  
  
Miroku on the other hand found himself staring at her once again, finally beginning to comprehend the extent of the situation. _No way...is she...I mean, does she..._ He swallowed, trying to work up the courage to ask the next question.  
  
"Sango, do...do you...have f-feelings for me?" he questioned quietly, his voice a bit high-pitched and unsteady, and he could see her stiffen.  
  
_What am I supposed to say?_ she thought desperately, eyes darting to and fro as though searching for an answer. She wanted to deny it, to just get away from there, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.  
  
"I...I don't know," she finally replied softly, and before Miroku had a chance to respond the main door opened with a loud squeaking sound to reveal a certain silver-haired hanyou.  
  
"Hey guys," Inuyasha greeted them, oblivious to the scene he had just interrupted.  
  
"Hi Inuyasha," Sango responded with a somewhat sad smile, which the hanyou missed, not looking at Miroku as she straightened her apron and set of to continue with her work again.  
  
"Sango-" Miroku began quietly, but she interrupted him, turning back.  
  
"I don't have time for this right now, okay? We both have work to do," she said simply before continuing on her way, leaving a somewhat shell-shocked Miroku behind her.  
  
He watched her walk away, lost in his very confused thoughts, but was snapped out of it by Inuyasha's irritable voice calling, "Oi, monk, quit gaping like an idiot and get over here, will ya?"  
  
Shaking his head to clear it, he did as Inuyasha bade, moving back behind the bar to start checking the bottles to see which things they needed more of.  
  
But as he worked he couldn't help the fact that his gaze would often drift to the brown-haired woman as she cleaned tables around the room. And for once it wasn't her gorgeous body that drew his attention.  
  
* * *  
  
"Two kamikaze's," Kagome said coldly, setting her tray on the counter before Inuyasha and looking away.  
  
He gave a low growl of frustration. She'd been giving him the cold shoulder all evening and it was beginning to get on his nerves. Finally he couldn't hold back any longer, bursting out, "What's your problem, wench?!" But even as he said it he already had a pretty good idea what the answer was.  
  
"You're my problem, you pig-headed jackass!" she ground out, shooting him a glare. "You think you can just-" she cut herself off before she revealed something she shouldn't have heard, crossing her arms and ending in a huff of dismissal. "Nevermind."  
  
"No, no, I'm interested," he drawled sarcastically, with a wave of the hand, "Please, educate the lowly pig-head."  
  
Her eyes narrowed, boring into him. If looks could kill, he'd be one very dead doggie by now. "Thank god not all men are like you. Ryoga's sweet and kind. He would never-"  
  
He interrupted her with a laugh, "Feh. Never what? Be as rude or as stupid as me I suppose? You've got a lot to learn, bitch, if you think any man's a saint. Even your precious Ryoga."  
  
"You have no idea what you're talking about, you son of a bitch. He doesn't have a mean or inconsiderate bone in his body. And I'll thank you to keep your goddamn nose out of my love life!"  
  
"Love life?! I'd bet good money that he hasn't even kissed you yet -- I mean really kissed you -- and you say you have a love life?"  
  
"Not all adult relationships revolve around sex, you know, as if any of this is your business, anyway! Ryoga and I have something special even though we've only been together for a short time," she snapped, "And if I chose to sleep with him it would be because I trusted him to realize that there was more to it than just sex, trusted him to respect me afterward. Can anyone say that about you, Inuyasha? You couldn't even begin to understand someone like him, you slime."  
  
"Oh, so what, are you in love with him then?!" he countered, forgetting, for the moment, to whom he was referring. "You gonna run off and marry him?!"  
  
"I just might!!" she yelled, grabbing the tray of drinks and storming off, completely oblivious to the utterly shocked hanyou she left behind, whose amber eyes were wide as saucers. The people nearby who had paused their conversations to watch the couple's argument gradually took them up again, seeing that the scene was over.  
  
Slowly Inuyasha turned and headed on up the bar toward the door to the back room.  
  
"Hey bartender, could I-"  
  
"On break," he cut the man off absently, not looking at him as he pushed through into the empty locker room.  
  
_That was the weirdest conversation I ever had_, he thought. _She's...she's falling in love with him? Me? But...I'm not Ryoga; he's not even real. She despises the real me...and she's falling for him...  
  
Christ, this is complicated..._  
  
Somewhere in the back of his mind he began to register the gnawing feeling in his gut as jealousy. But how could he be jealous of someone who didn't exist? It was like being jealous of his own shadow. For fuck's sake, how could he be jealous on account of Kagome in the first place?!  
  
"I hate her...right?" he murmured, not sure what to think anymore.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted, however, when Miroku entered the room, looking somewhat bad-tempered. "Hey Inuyasha, what do you think you're doing? I can't handle the whole damn bar all by myself. Get back out here!"  
  
The hanyou glanced back, then went to get his jacket from the locker saying, "I don't feel good Miroku. I've got to go home and get some rest, okay? See you tomorrow."   
  
But the other man caught him as he headed for the door. "Hey, you can't just leave me here. What am I supposed to do about all those customers, huh?"  
  
"I don't know," Inuyasha replied impatiently, shrugging him off, "Get that Hojo kid to help you out, what do I care. You'll figure something out." And before Miroku had a chance to protest further he was out the door, wading his way through the pulsing crowds for the nearest exit out into the back alley.  
  
Once outside he heaved a sigh of relief for the relative peace and quiet, leaning back against the cool outer wall of the building and closing his eyes. _What the hell have I gotten myself into?_ he thought. _It's like I'm schizophrenic or something. I mean, when I'm with her as 'Ryoga' she's all nice and sweet, but as soon as 'Inuyasha' shows up, it's back to bitch._  
  
He opened his eyes again, staring bitterly into space. _Well I'll give her something to bitch about. See how she feels when her precious Ryoga turns out to be the pig-headed jackass. We're in the home stretch now..._  
  
Yet somehow that thought didn't bring him as much comfort as he thought it would.  
  
* * *

A/N: Let me know what you think, please! I love to hear from all of you. Oh, and if you don't get the chapter title and are curious, tell me so and I'll explain it either in the next chapter's author's notes or else I'll email you. 

    Bye dah-lings! Kiss kiss!


	4. With or Without You

Author's Note: Here we are, another chapter of Alter Ego! Yay! And thank you all for your continued interest and encouragement; it is invaluable to me.

    Cool, someone got the title of the last chapter! Congrats Hououza! For those of you who didn't, it's just a reference to Clark Kent (aka Superman) and the fact that Lois is in love with his alter ego whereas she won't give his real self the time of day…sound familiar?

    Anyway, I want to let you know that this chapter includes the song "With or Without You" by U2 at one point (hence the title), and I have arranged it in such that the narrative actually corresponds to the rests in the song, so it's really cool if you play the song and read the story in sync (I've tried it; it's awesome). That's always been my problem with songfics is that the lyrics just kind of come from nowhere and you don't get any sense of the music. To that end I also use periods to indicate beats, and beats between verses are in brackets. This is all a sort of refined version of the technique I used in my experimental songfic "What Happens Now," so read that for further explanation.

    Don't worry, if you don't have or know the song you can just ignore this stuff and it still works fine. But for those of you who do have access to it, try starting the song at the beginning of the paragraph before the lyrics start, read along and see how it sounds!

    Okay, just a couple of questions to answer:

Fallen-Snow: I love 28 Days! That one runs a close second to Dead Famous, probably only because I started Dead Famous first. I've read all Rozefire's completed fics (except Life Exchange) and I'm waiting for her to come back from vacation before I start Autumn Bane so I won't have to wait for updates! Oh, and I'll look for spots for the other characters, but I'm not sure If I can squeeze them in this time. Maybe a couple of cameos?

tsuki miko: Awesome, I have pairs of sisters reading my fics? I haven't even let _my_ sister read them! I feel so special! Hope you like MIA as well, and as far as length I'd love to make it longer but I don't want to take it farther than the material will allow. We'll see!

???: Good catch, but if you remember Miroku's first offer was 150 and Inu raised it to 200 (don't worry, I double checked!).

Alter Ego 

Chapter 4: With or Without You

Miroku was right; Inuyasha's time was running out. He had to make his move soon or lose yet another bet to that stupid houshi. Tonight was the night.  
  
He had invited Kagome over to his place for quiet little dinner that evening. However, before doing so, he had failed to consider the fact that he had never cooked a meal in his life. Thus he found himself at three-thirty in the afternoon in a kitchen which was coated floor to ceiling in flour and meat sauce, the scent of garlic so strong that it made his eyes water, with one pot of noodles boiling over on the stove as another pot, this one of spaghetti sauce, bubbled, splattered, and burned at the edges. The final straw was when the smoke pouring out of the oven from the 'bread' he'd been baking, which now vaguely resembled a sample of igneous rock, set off the fire alarm.  
  
beep, beep, beep...!  
  
"Son of a goddamn bitch!" he cursed, throwing his spatula and oven mitts to the floor of the disaster area formerly known as a kitchen. "Fuck this!" The hanyou irritably attempted to wrestle his way out of the frilly, pink apron he'd borrowed from Mrs. Dubrousky down the hall, while simultaneously trying to shield his sensitive ears from the high-pitched noise echoing into every corner of his apartment. Finally, after nearly strangling himself, he gave up and left the apron hanging somewhat lopsidedly around his neck. Muttering a string of very imaginative invectives, he stood on top of the counter and began fiddling with the wires inside the alarm, finally giving up and yanking the whole damn thing off the ceiling. When the noise ceased he breathed a sigh of relief.   
  
"Thank god." However, that relief was short lived, his temper returning when his gaze fell back to the kitchen below him. A growl began in the back of his throat. "Nothing is worth this much trouble," he grumbled.  
  
The trouble itself was not his only problem. Kagome would be arriving in approximately two and a half hours, expecting a lovely meal and, presumably, a relatively clean house. He doubted that 'spaghetti and bread/charcoal surprise' in a kitchen that seemed to have been hit by a small hurricane would do much to convince her to spend the night with him -- now or ever.  
  
With a sigh of defeat, the silver-haired hanyou slumped into a sitting position on the edge of the counter, watching his attempt at cooking boil itself to hell. _I give up..._  
  
Just then there came a knock at the door, and Inuyasha jumped. It couldn't be Kagome so soon, could it? He gulped and went to answer the door, but just as he reached for the knob he froze, eyes widening in a sudden thought. A hand raised to his head, feeling his ears; he was in hanyou form. He quickly pressed his eye to the peephole and, sure enough, the person standing on the other side of the door was none other than his Kagome.  
  
That was close...wait a minute -- _his_ Kagome? _Feh, that's not important right now_, he scoffed mentally, waving away the thought. Desperately he cast his eyes about, trying to remember where the hell he'd left that damn necklace. He began rummaging though the room, tossing pillows about and scattering magazines in a frantic attempt to locate it.  
  
The knock came again. "Ryoga? It's me, Kagome. I know I'm early but I just wanted to-"  
  
Ah, there it was!  
  
"-stop by and see if you needed any-" she broke off abruptly when the door swung open to reveal a particularly haggard looking Ryoga, rumpled pink apron tied at an odd angle, some sort of red sauce splattered in his dark hair, as well as on the end of his nose, covered from head to toe in baking ingredients, with a rather large smudge of flour on his cheek to top it off. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud at his comical appearance.  
  
"Ah," she said, struggling to keep her composure, "I, uh, wondered if you needed any...help." At the last bit she found she couldn't hold it in any longer. The woman began to shake with silent laughter, tears of mirth blurring her vision. Perhaps this was why she didn't notice the very familiar scowl that grew on Inuyasha's face.  
  
"What's so funny?" he demanded irritably, only causing her to laugh even harder.  
  
Gasping for breath, she finally managed to gain access to her voice again. "You just look so...cute!" she exclaimed affectionately, catching another glimpse of him and doubling up again.  
  
His scowl deepened. "Well if you're just gonna stand there-"  
  
"No, no," she said, putting a hand to her chest as her laughter subsided, "I'm sorry, I'll help." Herding him back inside she closed the door behind them and turned to the kitchen, gasping at the sight.  
  
Horror turned to disbelief and then once again to amusement as she registered the utter chaos before her. She turned and slumped against Inuyasha, who stiffened defensively at first, but eventually, persuaded by the feel of her laughter against his chest, found himself beginning to chuckle as well. Soon the two of them were laughing hysterically in each others arms, both trying desperately to catch their breath, each one's mirth only feeding the other's further.  
  
Finally their laughter subsided, and they broke apart, each trying to steady their breath, wiping tears from their eyes. Kagome met Inuyasha's gaze with a grin, shaking her head. "Come on, let's get this cleaned up and start over. Something tells me you haven't done a whole lot of cooking -- am I right?"  
  
"Whatever gave you that idea?" he answered with a raise of the eyebrow and a wry smirk.  
  
* * *  
  
It took the pair of them nearly two hours to clean up the mess and dispose of all the ruined food, but when they did finish the place was neater and tidier than Inuyasha had ever seen it. He had to hand it to her: this woman was really something.  
  
"Okay, now for the next step," Kagome said, rubbing her hands together, satisfied that the cleaning was done, "Cooking."  
  
"Hell no!" Inuyasha protested in horror. "No way am I ever going to try that again."  
  
The woman rolled her eyes. "Oh for heaven's sake Ryoga, it's not that bad. All you need is to be a bit more organized and read the directions more carefully, okay? And I'll be here if it gets out of hand. Don't tell me you're afraid?"  
  
Inuyasha turned away and uttered the smallest of "Keh"s before he could stop himself. He froze instantly, realizing what he'd just said, but Kagome took no notice this time.  
  
"Good. Now, I vote for something other than spaghetti; I think we've both had enough of that for the time being. Where do you keep the cookbooks?" she asked, and Inuyasha furrowed his brow, looking up to the ceiling in thought.  
  
"Uh..." Did he even have a cookbook? He'd just sort of guessed with the spaghetti. After all it was only noodles and sauce wasn't it? And the bread recipe he'd gotten from Mrs. Dubrousky along with the apron. "I think I did have one at some point, but..."  
  
She raised her eyebrows at him. "You mean you were trying to cook an entire meal from scratch for the first time with no instructions?"  
  
"Well I figured you just sort of throw in whatever tastes good. I mean, it's just tomato sauce and meat and stuff. How hard could it be?" he shrugged, eyes narrowing when she shook her head with a laugh. "What's so funny?" he demanded.  
  
"You. Honestly I don't think I've ever met a man as hopeless in the kitchen as you are," she replied with an amused smile. "I guess Inuyasha was right; you're not perfect. But it's pretty cute," she added fondly, giving him a peck on the cheek before turning to begin surveying the cupboards for a cookbook.  
  
Inuyasha merely stared at her for a moment, torn between the warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach from the affectionate quality of her voice, and the jolt he'd felt at being reminded that he was currently Ryoga, not Inuyasha, for he had practically forgotten the distinction. _Talk about an identity crisis_, he thought wryly.  
  
"Aha!" Kagome exclaimed, snapping him back to reality, such as it was, as she pulled a very dusty, white book from one of the bottom shelves. It's binding was so crisp it appeared that it had never even been opened. "Here we are," she said, wiping it clean with a nearby rag and opening it to the table of contents.  
  
Inuyasha came up behind her, peering over her shoulder at the long list of dishes over which she ran a finger. Many of them were ones he'd never even heard of. "What's Lutefisk?" he asked, curiously.  
  
Kagome made a face, glancing back at him over her shoulder. "It's a Scandinavian dish, made of cod soaked in lye and then boiled so that it turns into a sort of gelatinous substance. I've heard it's disgusting. Besides, it takes several weeks to make, just because of the soaking."  
  
"Ew," Inuyasha replied, wrinkling his nose. "I say we don't make Lutefisk."  
  
She laughed lightly, turning back to the book. "I'll second that. How about...ooh, how about beef stroganoff?"  
  
He eyed her skeptically for a moment. "You sure that one doesn't have any gelatinous meat in it?"  
  
She grinned. "Positive."  
  
"Okay. What do we need?"  
  
She set the book on the counter and began listing ingredients while Inuyasha moved about the kitchen retrieving them. "Oh, and we'll need a frying pan and spatula, as well at a pot for the rice."  
  
"Rice?"  
  
"Yeah. Well, some people make it with noodles, but I prefer rice; especially after cleaning pasta off the walls for two hours."  
  
"Good point. Rice it is then."  
  
Once they'd gotten the rice going, and she'd shown him how to lower the heat to the appropriate temperature so it wouldn't burn, they kibbled the ground beef (of which, luckily, Inuyasha still had plenty, despite using some in the spaghetti sauce; he'd bought a very large quantity since he really didn't know how much he was supposed to put in) and fried it.  
  
"How do you know when the beef is done?" he asked.  
  
"When it- ouch!" she exclaimed, yanking her hand away from the handle of the pan and nearly knocking it to the floor with her sudden movement, but Inuyasha managed to catch the hot pan in time and replace it on the stove.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, concerned, taking the hand she'd put to her mouth and inspecting the red patch appearing on her forefinger.  
  
"It's nothing. I just burned myself is all," she replied, slight frustration creeping into her voice.  
  
"You should put something on it," the dark-haired man suggested meeting her eyes.  
  
"No, really, I'm okay. Ow!" she winced again when his finger brushed the angry, red burn on her flesh.  
  
"Don't be stubborn, Kagome. Come on." With that he grabbed a first-aid kit from the cupboard and dragged her over to the dining table in the next room. "Sit down," he instructed, and she obeyed with a sigh of resignation.  
  
He pulled up a chair beside her and took a seat, fishing around in the first aid kit for a tube of burn treatment.  
  
"This really isn't necessary, Ryoga. It's just a little burn," the woman argued, but she allowed him to take her hand once again and begin applying a thin coat of clear goo to the abused skin. She drew in a short breath with a hiss at the first sting, but as he gently massaged the injury she felt the skin going pleasantly numb.   
  
"Thanks," she said quietly, smiling at him as he met her eyes. For a moment they just held each other's gaze, her hand still enclosed within his.  
  
He felt as though he could lose himself in her eyes. He was gradually being overcome with the urge to kiss her -- really kiss her, deeply. It was so strong that all other thoughts seemed to fade away into the background, and he found himself slowly leaning forward to press his lips to hers. Her eyes drifted closed as he moved closer, but just before their lips made contact the lids snapped open again and she turned her head to look in the direction of the kitchen.  
  
"Ryoga! We left the stove on!" she exclaimed, jumping up and rushing into the kitchen to make sure the meat hadn't burned in the meantime.  
  
Inuyasha overbalanced from the sudden mood shift, catching himself from falling forward on the chair Kagome had recently vacated. For a moment he just sat there, trying to restore his senses.  
  
What the hell was wrong with him these days? How did she manage to make him forget everything like that, forget who he was and what he was doing? _What _am _I doing?_ he thought.  
  
"Ryoga? Come on in here, I want to show you how to make the sauce," her melodious voice drifted over from the kitchen.  
  
"Coming," he murmured, shaking his head to clear it and going to do as she bade. There was no time to figure it out just now.  
  
* * *  
  
Light, romantic music played in the background, the dim, flickering light of the candles illuminating their faces as they ate the fruit of their shared labor. The sun had set hours ago, and through the window a handful of stars were visible, shining like fireflies across the endless night sky.  
  
"Was your father upset?" Inuyasha asked, an amused smirk playing on his lips.  
  
Kagome's eyes flicked to the ceiling in mock contemplation. "Mmm, just a little, yes."  
  
He laughed out loud. "I can't believe you wrecked your dad's Porsche within a year of getting your license. I can't believe he let you _drive_ it within a year of getting your license!"  
  
"Well, he did have a tendency to be a bit irrational at times," she conceded. "I did a lot of things I shouldn't have back then, and I got away with them. I suppose that's why I was so spoiled. Then again if it hadn't been for my father's overindulgence I probably never would have felt the need to grow up and take responsibility for my life. I might never have amounted to anything but a rich little daddy's girl." She wrinkled her nose at the idea.  
  
He watched her in wonder. Who would have thought that the 'good little girl' had once been a spoiled, reckless teenager? That was one thing that never ceased to amaze him in all the time he had spent with her recently. How had she managed such a switch?  
  
Kagome finished off the last of her glass of wine and sat back in her chair with a satisfied sigh. "Mmm, that was lovely. Are you finished?" she asked, standing up and beginning to clear away the dishes.  
  
"Yep," he answered with a nod, rising to assist her. They brought their things into the kitchen and Kagome put away the leftovers, but before she could turn to begin washing the dishes, Inuyasha caught her arm.  
  
"Don't worry about them; I'll get them later. Come on." He tilted his head in the direction of the living room, drawing her out with him and into his arms. She took the hint, clasping her wrists loosely behind his neck and beginning to sway with him to the sound of U2's "With or Without You," playing over the stereo.  
  
The music was mellow and smooth, with a quick, simple, muted bass beat beneath a long, trailing, high-pitched note that floated in and out, changing pitch and quality as the song grew. Then a supple male voice joined the song in a longing, almost pleading, tone that seemed to speak of need and heartache.  
  
_See the stone.. set in your eye-es...  
See the thorn.. twist in your side...  
I wait... for you..._  
  
His hand slid slowly from her waist to the small of her back, unconsciously drawing her in.   
  
_Sleight of hand.. and twist of fate..  
On a bed of nails.. she makes me wait...  
And I wait... without you....  
_  
[2 beats]  
  
_ With or without you....  
..With or with-a-out you.._  
  
[7 beats]  
  
_Through the storm.. we reach the shore..  
You give it all.. but I want more...  
And I'm wai-ting for you....  
_  
[2 beats]  
  
_With or without you....  
..With or with-out you, a-ha..  
I can't live....  
..With or with-a-out you..  
_  
He drew her closer in his arms, and she melted into him, leaning her head against his shoulder. It felt so right to be here with her he almost couldn't breathe.  
  
_And you give.. yourself awa-ay..  
And you give.. yourself awa-ay..  
And you give...  
And you give...  
And you.. give.. yourself awa-ay...._  
  
[2 beats]  
  
_My hands are tied....  
..My body bruised, she's got me wi-ith,  
Nothing to wi-in, and,  
Nothing left to lo-ose...  
  
And you give.. yourself awa-ay..  
And you give.. yourself awa-ay..  
And you give...  
And you give...  
And you.. give.. yourself awa-ay..  
  
With or without you......  
With or with-out you, o-oh..  
I can't live......  
With or with-a-out you....  
_  
As the music grew more intense, more desperate, the voice crescendoed to a long, pleading wail of anguish, and Inuyasha felt his own heart echo the sentiment. At that moment all he could think was how badly he needed her -- not just her body, but her mind, her soul.  
  
_ With or without you....  
..With or with-out you, o-ah..  
I can't live......  
With or with-a-out you..  
With or without you...  
_  
The voice faded away, leaving the mellow sounds of that quick bass, along with a repeating pattern of electric guitar chords to drift on the air, carrying that final, unanswered question out into the room... _Do I live with or without you?_ Amid the waning notes Inuyasha gently pulled back, just enough to look into the face of the woman in his arms. There he saw reflected the very emotions which had entwined themselves around his soul, and without a second thought he bent his head and captured her lips with his. The kiss was at once sweet and hungry, asking, demanding, pleading. She accepted him willingly, so deep was the trust and the need radiating from within her. He could feel it, taste it in her kiss.   
  
Every fiber of his being told him to whisk her away and into the next room, and he knew she would follow without protest. Indeed he was about to do just that, until her voice murmuring a single, aching word against his lips made his insides turn to ice.  
  
"Ryoga..." she breathed, her fingers entangling themselves in his hair, trying to pull him closer, pressing herself more firmly against him.  
  
Guilt flooded him at the sound of that name, stronger than ever before. Her words to 'Inuyasha' earlier arose in his mind, stabbing him through the heart. _'...if I chose to sleep with him it would be because I trusted him...Can anyone say that about you, Inuyasha?'_  
  
He couldn't do it. Gods above, how he wanted her, needed her, but he couldn't betray her like that. _She's not with me; she was never with me. She's with 'Ryoga' -- her precious, perfect, god-like 'Ryoga.' And I will never be what she believes him to be._  
  
Eyes clenched tight, heart wrenching at the thought, he eased her back gently. Her eyes fluttered open, meeting his in slight confusion.  
  
He forced himself to look her in the eye, to not look guilty or give away too much. "We should stop," he said, his voice slightly husky with suppressed need, "before we make a...rash decision. I...don't want to lose what we have now by moving too fast." His heart screamed at him to shut the fuck up, take her in his arms, and take her right there, right then, but for once he refused to give in to impulse. A larger, better part of him knew that there was a great deal more involved here than just...sex. Where had he heard that before...?  
  
"You're right," she conceded breathily, trying to calm her raging pulse and nodding with a smile, "You're absolutely right. I don't want to lose this either, Ryoga." She wrapped her arms around his neck in an embrace and whispered in his ear, "Thank you. Thank you for being so considerate; for being who you are."  
  
He closed his eyes, simultaneously delighting in the whisper of her warm breath over his skin and berating himself for fooling this beautiful young woman into thinking he was a decent human being. For the first time in his life he truly felt like the pond scum that Kagome was always accusing him of being.  
  
She gave him a light kiss on the neck and slid out of his arms to go retrieve her coat. "I should really be getting home," she said, heading for the door.  
  
He managed to get his legs working again enough to go open the door for her. Just outside in the hallway she paused and turned back with a loving smile that nearly shattered his resolve. "See you later, Ryoga," she said softly, and disappeared down the hallway.  
  
He closed the door behind her, leaned his back against it and promptly slid down to sit on the floor with his head in his hands. _What the hell have I done?_ he thought miserably. _I've deceived her in the worst way possible. There's no way she'll forgive me when she finds out that her precious Ryoga doesn't exist. She's in love with him, and she despises me -- the real me. And it's not as if I can just go on living the lie forever. I don't want to be with her as someone else. I want...I want to be with her as me._  
  
_But that will never happen. She'll hate me even more than she does now, maybe even leave town. I'd never see her again, in either form. I don't think I can live with that either...  
  
Dammit, why the hell do I have to care?! Things were so simple to begin with -- I deceive the little bitch, piss her off, take Miroku down a peg, and make a cool two-hundred. Now...now just thinking about her makes me feel like...I don't know what. I couldn't blame her for despising me. I despise myself..._  
  
He clenched a fist, resisting the urge to slam it through a wall. Frustration and self-loathing building within him, he pushed himself up from the floor, stormed into his bedroom and stood before the mirror. Then he yanked the necklace off, glaring at his reflection as it turned hanyou once more.  
  
His expression cooled into a quiet resignation as he glanced down at the troublesome little item in his hand. _I have to tell her, explain myself, see if I can make her understand. It's my only choice..._  
  
* * *

A/N: Ahhh! I have to eat something! I'm starving (I forgot to have dinner – oops)!

    Anyway, hope you liked the chapter and please review! Tell me if the song part worked or not. Luv ya!


	5. Communication

Author's Note: Wow, it's been awhile, eh? Sooo sorry for the wait; I had no idea it would take this long when I last posted or I would have warned you, but as promised I gave this story priority when I got time, and here's the result. Anyway, a lot of stuff (exams, play performances, etc.) just sort of piled up on me and to top it off my grandmother passed away a few days ago so things have been thrown off a bit for me. But don't worry, I'm okay. She had cancer and we knew it was coming, but it set on a bit faster than anticipated. Anyway it's probably better that she didn't have to linger too long. Well, now that I've thoroughly depressed everyone, let's move on to review replies (if I can remember what I was going to say…)!

    First of all, it sounds like most people thought the song in the last chapter worked well, which is good. I'm still playing around with the technique, but I think I'm getting closer at least!

Fallen-Snow: Yeah, I think you're right about the beats. I originally put them in as a guide and I replaced most of them but I couldn't figure out how to get rid of a few of them. Anyway, looking over it again I think I see how I could fix it. When I get a chance I'll tweak it some more. By the way, I read Life Exchange and I loved it! Oooh, but the part near the end with the rock…when he grabs her arm and…you know what I'm talking about…eeew. I'd say more, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone. Anyway, if you want to chat further, email me or IM me or something. I'd love to discuss it with you!

I am the master: You admire me as a writer? That's awesome, thank you so much! And I would be happy to give you tips once you write something. If you'd like you can send me stuff by email and I can look it over for you before you even post it, or I can just review it once it's up, either way. Anyway, let me know when you've got something -- I'd love to see it!

Alter Ego 

Chapter 5: Communication

Miroku leaned his chair back on two legs at a somewhat precarious angle, resting his feet atop the small table in the staff room and spreading his newspaper out before him. He skimmed the headlines for items of interest, but as usual he found none. They were all about corrupt politicians, new 'miracle' diet plans, kidnappings, and the like. The real world was, in his opinion, far too depressing. Therefore he quickly found the section much more to his liking: Variety.  
  
"Seen it, seen it, seen it -- ooh, Lord of the Rings is playing!"  
  
Just then the door swung open forcefully and, lo and behold, Inuyasha marched in.  
  
"Hey, what's up?" Miroku questioned casually, looking up.  
  
The hanyou made no reply, but only walked forward purposefully and tossed a wad of bills into Miroku's lap, turning to leave. "It's over; you win," he muttered simply as he did so.  
  
Miroku frowned in confusion, picking up the cash his friend had dumped on him. "Hey, wait a minute."  
  
"What?" Inuyasha turned, a look of impatience on his face.  
  
"Oh come on, seriously, you can't just throw some money in my face and not expect me to ask questions. What's this all about?" Miroku asked as he got to his feet, tossing the paper aside.  
  
Fists clenching at his sides, the half-demon gave an irritated growl. "I told you, the bet's over and you won. I did not sleep with Kagome. That is your prize money. Am I going slow enough for you?"  
  
He frowned in response. "Inuyasha, your time's not up for another day and a half. You could still do it and you know it, so why the hell are you giving up like this? What's the catch?" he added suspiciously.  
  
Inuyasha's glare could melt steel. "There is no catch, okay, so but out, houshi," he snapped.  
  
But something in all this didn't add up. Inuyasha, giving up on a bet against Miroku of all people? Unprecedented. No, there was definitely something going on, but...wait a minute. No way...  
  
Miroku's expression turned gradually from puzzlement to understanding, an amused gleam appearing in his eye with a mischievous smirk to match. "Ooooh, so that's it..."  
  
Now it was Inuyasha's turn to be suspicious. "What's 'it'?" he asked, eying his friend with some trepidation.  
  
"You son of a bitch," the man mused, "You fell for her, didn't you?"  
  
"What?! Fell for that...that...that woman! Ha!" but the flush in his cheeks belayed his words, not to mention the stutter in his voice and the fact that the best he could come up with to call her was 'woman.'  
  
Miroku only grew smugger. "Oh for fuck's sake, Inuyasha, you suck at lying. You fell for her, and what's more, you know it, don't you." It wasn't a question.  
  
"Like hell I..." he tried to argue, but the words just wouldn't come. "What do you know you jackass...I mean just cause I don't want to fuck her doesn't...oh god dammit!" How could he tell Miroku what had happened to him, what he was feeling. Hell, _he_ didn't even know what it was. All he knew for sure was that he didn't want to hurt her -- but gods how he wanted her.  
  
The dark-haired man only laughed. Oh yeah, he had it bad. "You poor twitterpated fool," he sighed condescendingly, giving the hanyou a patronizing little pat on the shoulder as he began to count his money on the way to the door. "Well, I knew you wouldn't be able to do it, but I must admit I didn't really think this would be the cause. Can't wait to see how Kagome takes the news, eh ol' buddy? Been nice doing business with you!" he finished with a jaunty smile and wave, calculated to annoy, and quite effectively so, as he swept out the door.  
  
Inuyasha growled after him, fists clenching with the sudden urge to break something -- more specifically, a certain brown-haired bartender's neck.  
  
-- -- --  
  
In a shady corner of the crowded bar, just to the left of the back exit, an elusive female figure sat in quiet observation. Kikyo took an elegant drag of the cigarette perched comfortably between her fore and middle fingers, resting the heel of her expensively manicured hand against the surface of the table as she exhaled a cloud of curling white smoke in a slow stream.   
  
Since she had taken over management of the club she rarely got to see it in action, working in her spacious office in the back, so she made it a point to come out every once in a while and have a cigarette and just simply watch the crowds. It kept her in tune with the business, and indeed it could be quite interesting at times. One saw things one otherwise would not see if one only took the time to sit back and observe. In fact even her employees rarely noticed her there, hidden in the shadows.  
  
Out on the dance floor there was a couple dancing just a bit too close to be civilized, in Kikyo's opinion, and the man appeared to be nibbling at the woman's ear as his hands traveled up and down her body. However the detail which particularly interested Kikyo was the other, much larger and heavily tattooed man who was glaring daggers at the couple from the other side of the room. It just so happened that a couple of weeks ago Kikyo had been lucky enough to catch part one of the melodrama -- when the larger man had been equally close to the very same woman.  
  
_This ought to be interesting..._ she thought to herself with a slight smirk as the man made his way through the crowd to the couple. Upon reaching them he shoved them apart, knocking the woman to the floor and yanking the man forward by the front of his shirt until he was mere inches from his face.  
  
"Who the hell are you, you motherfucking son of a bitch?!" the large man growled, loudly enough to make most of the surrounding couples turn to watch. Even the music seemed to get quieter.  
  
The smaller man swallowed, quailing under the other man's fierce gaze as he clutched at the hands fisted tightly in his shirt. "I'm...uh I-I'm Hiroshi. Who-who the hell are you?" he questioned, sounding rather startled and confused.  
  
"Don't be a smart ass!" the man growled back, giving him a shake.  
  
"Dammit, Shin, let him go!" the woman demanded angrily, finally managing to get to her feet -- none too easy in a skin-tight mini-skirt, to say nothing of the three inch spike heels.  
  
Shin rounded on her, still not releasing Hiroshi. "Shut the fuck up bitch!"  
  
"Shin, no!" the woman screamed more desperately as Shin made to punch her new paramour. But fortunately he never got the chance.  
  
"Hey jackass," came the voice of the silver-haired hanyou who had just managed to push through the crowd to the threesome, catching the man's fist and stopping it dead with ease, though Shin was clearly exerting his plentiful strength in an attempt to overpower him. "No fighting, got it? Now let him go or I'm gonna have to throw you out on your ass."  
  
Shin's glare was now directed at Inuyasha, and was, if possible, even deadlier than before. But the hanyou merely quirked an eyebrow mockingly as if to say, _what, you wanna fight me?_ The man's eyes narrowed, but he dropped his fist to his side and released Hiroshi, his eyes never leaving Inuyasha's.  
  
"Fine," he ground out before stalking away, pushing roughly through the crowd. Inuyasha smirked at his retreating back and in turn made his way back to the bar as the music returned and couples went back to dancing. All the while Kikyo watched in fascinated amusement. She took a sort of guilty pleasure in these low-class human conflicts. After all none of her society friends would dare be so bold as to start a fist fight in public -- well perhaps some of her youkai friends, but even then it would always be referred to as a 'duel' or something of that sort.  
  
She inhaled from her cigarette again and allowed her eyes to follow Inuyasha's progress back to the bar with interest. Of course she wasn't interested in him _that_ way -- she was a happily married woman after all, and he was hardly her type to begin with; he was dirt poor, by her standards -- but there was something fascinating about him, from an objective standpoint.  
  
As she watched, however, she couldn't help but notice another pair of eyes matching his progress as well, and of which the hanyou in question appeared quite unaware. Kagome, standing, tray in hand, near a table across the room, regarded him with what seemed a somewhat puzzled expression. It looked as though she weren't quite sure what to make of his actions. With a skill borne of frequent observation, Kikyo could all but hear the thoughts running through the woman's head. _I've never seen him like that before... he was so -- chivalrous...who does he remind me of...?_  
  
Of course it might have helped a bit that, being the observant person she was -- not to mention the fact that she owned the place and knew pretty much everything that went on within it at any given time -- Kikyo was well aware of Miroku and Inuyasha's little wager. He office shared a wall with the staff room, and that alone provided her with some interesting dialogue from time to time.  
  
Meanwhile, returning her attention to the hanyou, she saw that his smug expression had slipped into a more pensive one. Frankly, it was so unfamiliar on the man's face that Kikyo couldn't read what he was thinking at all, which she found quite frustrating indeed. But his eyes kept traveling to Kagome, who by now had returned to her waitressing duties.  
  
Casting about for a distraction, her gaze fell upon Sango, who was walking toward the bar, presumably to order drinks. But she seemed intent to divert her gaze from Miroku and, although he was closer to her, she made a beeline for Inuyasha's end of the bar. As she passed by, Sango was so busy avoiding him that she completely missed the way he followed her with his eyes, looking somewhat crestfallen. Well this was new... Of course she knew there was something between the two -- for no one with eyes could possibly miss it -- but it seemed there was some piece to the puzzle she was unaware of. Had something happened between them without her knowledge?  
  
She watched Miroku watch Sango, looking as if he were trying to say something but was afraid to even speak to her loud enough to catch her attention. Miroku tripping over his tongue? Unheard-of.  
  
Once Sango had left to deliver the drinks, however, he seemed to gather himself and went after her. Unfortunately the table at which he caught up with her was all the way across the room, and well out of earshot. But Kikyo could see that Sango seemed to be trying to get away and Miroku wasn't going to let her. It looked as though he was...pleading with her about something? If only she could hear what they were saying!  
  
Finally with a furrow of the brow and a sigh she glanced at the clock. She had best return to her work if she wanted to get home at a decent hour tonight -- well decent for her, anyway. She put her cigarette out and got to her feet, heading back to her office with her usual graceful saunter.  
  
-- -- --  
  
"Alright, you had the dry martini -- here you are -- and yours was the merlot, right?" Sango asked the couple with a pleasant smile as she served the drinks.  
  
"Yep -- thank you," the woman replied with a smile and Sango turned to go attend to the next table...only to run directly into Miroku's chest.  
  
"Holy -- Miroku!" she gasped, "Jesus, don't scare me like that." But when she tried to brush past him he blocked her. "Miroku what are you -- let me by!" she demanded, still refusing to meet his gaze, yet his eyes were trained relentlessly on her face.  
  
"No, not until you quit ignoring me. Sango," he implored taking hold of her arm to stop her escaping, finally forcing her to look at him, "please, we have to talk about this."  
  
"I can't right now, I have customers -- speaking of which, who's running the bar?"  
  
"Inuyasha's got it. He dumped the whole thing on me for two hours the other night, I think he can handle it himself for ten minutes."  
  
Sango sighed in exasperation when she tried to maneuver away and was blocked once again. "Alright fine, we'll talk. But not right now, okay, I'm really busy."  
  
"When?" he pressed.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "I don't know, whenever you want I guess. Just let me go okay?"  
  
"Okay fine, we'll grab a bite after work then, okay?"  
  
"Sure." _Might as well get it over and done with as soon as possible._ All she had to do was deny her feelings and things would go back to normal. Right?  
  
Satisfied, he returned to the bar, and she watched him leave, having completely forgotten about all that 'work' she had to do now that the situation had passed. Could she really lie to his face about how she felt? But dammit, what else was she supposed to do, play the poor woman that everyone pitied for her unrequited love? She wouldn't be able to stand that -- especially from Miroku.  
  
-- -- --  
  
Sango pulled her coat tightly around her, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked along the sidewalk beside Miroku, at a loss for words. He seemed to be having similar difficulty thinking of what to say, hands jammed in the pockets of his jeans, so they merely proceeded to the little all-night diner in silence.  
  
Once there Miroku held the door for Sango, to which she murmured a small, "Thanks," and entered, heading for one of the tables by the window. They had their pick, seeing as the place was practically empty at this late hour. Only off duty club workers and the occasional die-hard clubber ever ate there at this time of night.  
  
She shrugged out of her coat and folded it in a corner of the booth, taking a menu and scanning it with her eyes as Miroku took a seat across from her. He noticed that she had yet to look directly at him, and he couldn't keep his eyes off her. However she was so concentrated on avoiding his eyes that she hadn't even noticed.  
  
"What'll it be?" asked a young, somewhat voluptuous, blonde waitress as she flipped to a fresh page in her little notepad.  
  
"Just a chocolate malt for me," he said with a smile.  
  
"Sure thing Mir. How 'bout you Hon?"  
  
Sango's suspicious gaze had snapped to the man's face when the woman addressed him with such familiarity.  
  
Miroku looked back at her, waiting for her to order, slightly puzzled by the cold look she was giving him. What had he done to offend her now?  
  
"I'll have the same," Sango answered flatly, finally looking away out the window into the night.  
  
But Miroku continued to regard her in mild confusion at her attitude as the waitress left with their menus. "Okay," he said finally, "I give up. What did I do now?"  
  
Her eyes met his only briefly before returning to the window with a somewhat sadly bemused expression. "Nothing, I guess. Nothing out of the ordinary, that is. Anyway you brought me here; what did you want to talk about?"  
  
He swallowed and shifted in his seat. How should he go about this? "Well, I'm not really sure, I guess, it's just that you've been avoiding me lately -- you know, ever since that conversation we had -- and I thought we should get things out in the open. Sango," he laid a hand over hers, finally bringing her gaze to his face, "You're one of my best friends -- more than that in fact -- and there's no way in the world I'm going to lose you over some stupid fight. Please, tell me what I can do to make things up to you."  
  
She regarded his genuine expression silently with tension building in her brow. Her eyes drifted down to the hand he had placed over her own, then back to his face. He looked so...lost, perhaps? Contrite? Pleading? Some combination of the three was probably most accurate. "Miroku, I don't think there's anything you can do to just make it go away. I...I just have to work things out on my own."  
  
He frowned slightly as though trying to read her thoughts. "Look, I know you don't like me groping you and I promise I'll stop, but there's something else going on here and I'm just not sure I understand what it is. I mean, do you have feelings for me or am I just way off base on that one?"  
  
She looked away, slipping her hand from beneath his and crossing her arms over her chest. He watched disappointedly as she retreated into herself and waited uncertainly for an answer, which never came. With a sigh, Miroku sat back against the booth and turned his eyes out the window as well.   
  
The silence was broken by the return of the waitress. "Here you go," she said sweetly, placing a malt in front of each of them, and Sango watched Miroku give her a smile and a thanks, before returning her gaze to the window.  
  
Miroku looked at Sango again, who seemed barely even aware of his presence. Just when he was about to give up on conversation completely, Sango spoke quietly.  
  
"What is she to you?"  
  
He frowned at her in puzzlement. "Who?"  
  
"The waitress," she elaborated still staring out into the night, "Just humor me, what is she to you?"  
  
It still seemed like a pretty random question to him but he answered, glad that she was at least speaking to him. "A friend. We went out a couple of times a while ago, I guess."  
  
"Did you sleep with her?"  
  
His brow furrowed as if trying to recall, "Yeah, I think so. Why? I don't get it."  
  
She gave him a sort of flat, resigned look. "Of course you don't. Miroku, have you ever known a woman that you didn't sleep with?"  
  
After pondering for a moment he offered, "My mother?"  
  
Sango rolled her eyes. "Besides that, and ew, by the way."  
  
"Not that I can remember. Seriously, Sango, why are you asking this?"  
  
Her smile was self-deprecating and wry. "Just trying to figure out how much of a fool I am. See you later." With that she grabbed her coat and began to scoot out of the booth, but he stopped her.  
  
"Whoa, hang on -- what?"  
  
She heaved a sigh, resigning herself. "Alright, fine, you want to know where this is coming from? I'll tell you. I do have feelings for you, okay? No, not even that -- I'm head-over-heels in love with your stupid, oblivious ass and I've been foolish enough to hope that you might be capable of being in a serious, adult relationship. But that's not going to happen is it? See you around, Miroku."  
  
He was so stunned at what she'd said that she was able to slide out of the booth and make her way out of the diner before he could even think to stop her again. She loved him? She _loved_ him? _Jesus_, he thought putting a hand to his forehead. What was it she'd said about having an adult relationship? That he wasn't capable of it? What did she mean by that? She thought he didn't know what it meant to have a serious relationship? Of course he did. Just because he'd never been in one before didn't mean he hadn't thought about it. And just because he flirted with a lot of women and slept with most of them didn't mean he was completely oblivious -- that was Inuyasha.  
  
Well, apparently he was a little oblivious, because he hadn't seen this coming. But that was just a male/female thing, he supposed. Sometimes women did the most irrational things...  
  
That was when it dawned on him that Sango had left, and he got up to chase after her, tossing a few bills on the table as he hastily made his exit. He caught up with her about a block away, just standing there looking like she was trying desperately not to cry.  
  
"Sango..."  
  
She stiffened and turned to glance at him over her shoulder, before turning back to look straight ahead.  
  
"Sango," he murmured again, approaching her and taking her by the shoulders to face him. He lifted her chin with a finger, gazing into brown eyes rimmed with tears before slowly lowering to press a tender kiss to her lips.  
  
"No," she murmured painfully, pushing him away, but he held her fast. "Miroku, I will not be another one of your flavors of the week, okay? Let me go."  
  
"No. Sango please, hear me out. I...I know you think I'm just some shallow, perverted jackass who sleeps with women indiscriminately, but that's not all there is to me. Please, believe me when I tell you that I know what a serious relationship is -- I've just never met anyone that I felt that kind of...connection with. Until I met you, that is. If I've been an insensitive idiot, well, I guess that's more because I have trouble understanding you sometimes. But I want to; I want to know everything about you Sango. I want to be with you."  
  
Throughout this speech her eyes shifted back and forth, looking deep into his, trying to see if he really meant what he was saying.  
  
"Just give me a chance," he whispered pleadingly.  
  
That got her. She sank her lips into his once more, giving in to two years worth of wanting and waiting unsatisfied. Her arms curled around his neck as his hands tangled in her long, brown tresses. Their mouths moved sensuously together, each of them becoming more and more consumed by the pure rightness of the kiss.  
  
Finally they pulled back only slightly, still close enough to touch noses from time to time, and Sango was genuinely smiling for the first time in days. "You didn't even grope me," she commented amusedly with a quirk of the eyebrow.  
  
He raised both eyebrows in response. "Why, did you want me to?"  
  
"Mmm...maybe later," she replied playfully and her grin grew mischievous, matching his own.  
  
-- -- --

A/N: Well what do you think? I know you're all anxious to see Kag's reaction to Inu's little secret, and don't worry, it won't be long – I just thought I should give these two a little attention first! The best is yet to come… Review, pretty please!

    By the way, just to let you know I may be out of town next weekend (because of my grandmother) but I'm not quite sure what the deal is yet. Anyway the point is just that it may affect my posting of the next chapter, but I'll try my best to get it out in a timely fashion. Ta ta!


	6. The Power of Illusion

Author's Note: It hasn't been too long since I updated, has it? I have trouble keeping track of time lately. Well anyway, here's the next chapter. Oh, and just so you know, I've started a live journal. I've come across other authors who had them and it looked like fun so…voila! You can find it at livejournal.com under the username frameofmind6. I'll put the URL on my bio page (since it wont post correctly if I put it here) if you'd rather find it that way.

Okay, review replies:

Soul of Kagome: I 'fail to disappoint'? Despite the double negative, thank you so much! (I'm obsessed with grammar – just ignore me) I'm glad people like this stuff. Oh and congratulations on being first again! And yeah, I read part of Trapped, but I think I got interrupted and I never picked it up again. I'll have to go back and read it now that it's finished!

firebird5: What story was that you were reading? Do you remember the name, cause I think I might have heard of it. Well, hope I don't disappoint on the 'Inu getting his ass out of this one' front!

Hououza: Thanks, I appreciate the condolences. (And trust me, your typing is waaay better than some people's). Glad you liked the Mir/San stuff last chapter – I was a tiny bit worried about how that one came off. Love ya!

Krystal-Jade: I loved Bottled Genius! And yes, Rozefire definitely rox!

Fallen-Snow: A mother duck? lol, I've never heard that one before! Don't worry, I'm alive and well (you knew that though, from MIA – it's so confusing going back and forth with these review replies). Glad you liked the chapter…even more so because I know you usually tell me if you don't like something (don't worry, that's a good thing!). No, I don't have msn – I have aol instead. My email is Jessygirl6aol.com (I think it's on my bio) – email me anytime if you like. I've been meaning to email you, but if I take too long (which I often do, unfortunately), drop me a line!

Crazyblade: I have the power to dispel bad moods? Yay, now I can control the world! Seriously though, your review totally made _my_ day. As far as the other characters, I'm pretty much keeping it simple this time – I never thought this story would be so popular. To be perfectly frank, I thought I would totally suck at comedy, but I guess not! Anyway, next romantic comedy I do (which should be soon) I plan to make it more complex and bring in more characters.

I love you guys! Okay, now what was I going to…right, the chapter!

**Alter Ego**

Chapter 6: The Power of Illusion

The soft blue glow of the television reflected upon the faces of the couple as they sat on the couch in Kagome's apartment. They were watching the movie _Sabrina_ -- not exactly Inuyasha's first choice. Romantic comedies like this one were always so 'talkie' and sappy -- not enough action. But he had to admit he enjoyed the way Kagome was snuggled up against him with his arm draped around her shoulders. He was hardly paying any attention to the movie.  
  
He'd planned to tell her the truth tonight --really, he had -- but somehow he just couldn't seem to find the right moment. How was he supposed to even bring up the subject? How do you just come out and tell someone that you're not who they think you are?  
  
_"It was all a lie -- everything I said to you from the moment I brought the champagne into the solarium."_  
  
The man's voice on the screen caught Inuyasha's attention immediately. _It was all a lie..._ The words nearly made him cringe with guilt, and the expression of shock and hurt on the face of the woman called 'Sabrina' in response to those words did nothing to ease his conscience -- the opposite, in fact. He felt Kagome's hand twist absentmindedly in his navy blue t-shirt, and glancing down he could see her biting her lip, eyes trained on the screen as the events of the film came to a climax before her.  
  
Unconsciously his arm tightened protectively, comfortingly, around her shoulders, as though in doing so he could spare her the pain he knew was in store for her. He watched dimly, forebodingly as the movie played itself out, and by the end he heard Kagome give a small sniff, saw a single, sentimental tear roll down her cheek. His mouth quirked into a small smirk of amusement as he was distracted from his dark thoughts by the way she was affected by these sappy romance movies.  
  
As the credits began to roll Kagome gave a satisfied sigh and sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes, which only caused Inuyasha to smirk more.  
  
"Kagome, what are you crying about?" he teased, "It ended happily, remember?"  
  
She shot him a glare, but it was belayed by the smile that spread across her lips. "Oh come on, Ryoga, don't tell me you never cry at movies."  
  
"I don't!" he replied indignantly.  
  
"Never? Well then what's the point?" she asked teasingly, snuggling back down beside him, "It's no fun if you don't cry at the end. Seriously, there must have been some movie somewhere that made you cry."  
  
"Never. Not one. Men don't cry at movies, Kagome; it just doesn't work that way," he said firmly, though there was a distinct reddish tinge to his cheeks.  
  
"Well I think that's just silly. I like a guy who's not afraid to cry every now and then. Come on, Ryoga," she twisted to face him, his arm sliding down around her waist as she curled her legs beneath her and scooted up slightly to be on the same level with him, "Tell you what: you tell me just one movie that made you cry and I'll...I'll kiss you well enough to make it worth your while..."  
  
The offer was sorely tempting to him...but no, not even to Kagome could he reveal his most closely guarded secret. Not even for that. But...  
  
His resistance was crumbling under her mischievous gaze, which tempted him, practically daring him to give in. Well, he couldn't back down from a challenge now could he...  
  
"Alright, fine," he grumbled, "I'll tell you. A-a couple of years ago I rented a bunch of movies one time, and one of them had the wrong tape in the box. Anyway, I put it in by mistake, but I just decided to go ahead and watch it anyway since I was really bored and I had absolutely nothing better to do...besides, I was too lazy to get up and turn it off and I couldn't find the remote..."  
  
"What movie was it?"  
  
"It was..." he winced as he said it, his voice gruff, "...Bambi."  
  
Kagome's smile widened and her eyes lit up in amusement at the terribly adorable grumpy expression he wore. Finally she couldn't hold back any longer and began to laugh, dropping her forehead to his shoulder, shaking with mirth.  
  
"Hey!" Inuyasha snapped defensively, "That's not fair! What are you laughing at?!"  
  
"You!" she exclaimed, coming up for air. "You're so incredibly cute, do you know that?" the woman asked, still shaking her head as she gazed at him with laughing eyes and the most beautiful grin he'd ever seen.  
  
He struggled to maintain his scowl, but caved when she put a hand to his cheek and gave him a light, sweet kiss.  
  
"Hey," he growled playfully, when she pulled away again, "That's not good enough. I held up my end of the bargain, now you hold up yours."  
  
She quirked a coy eyebrow in response and said in a suggestive tone of voice that made his insides coil up in knots, "Oh, so you want a real kiss, eh? I'll show you a real kiss..." With that she hooked a hand around his neck and pulled him roughly to her, capturing his lips with her own in a fiery passion, running the fingers of her other hand through his long, dark hair, sweeping his mouth with her tongue seductively, sensuously -- and he responded in kind. It was wild and wanton, so outrageous as to be practically comical.  
  
When they broke apart their gazes met, and both of them burst out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the kiss -- but when the laughter died away it left in its wake something much deeper, more serious, and neither of them felt like laughing anymore.  
  
She met his eyes for a moment, then found her gaze sliding down to his lips, and back up to his eyes. In them she saw reflected the silent whisperings of her own heart, and almost without thinking she felt herself move toward him once more. Unconsciously he did the same. She reached for him, this time with sincerity rather than humor, the emotions within her building and overpowering her thoughts, her doubts, her inhibitions. In increasing passion, she grabbed hold of the chain around his neck to drag him against her, their lips meeting in a deep and penetrating kiss.  
  
He wrapped her up in his arms to keep her there, as though afraid she would escape, or that something would steal her away. His mouth moved over hers of its own accord, conveying to her what he could never seem to find the words to express, even to himself.  
  
In the sudden, genuine need that had enveloped her she moved to wrap her arms around his neck. But her hand was still fisted around the chain, and with her abrupt movement, it snapped, sliding to the floor -- ring and all.  
  
Inuyasha's eyes flew open as he felt the telltale tingling sensation. _Oh my god,_ he thought, his insides going cold at the prospect of Kagome's reaction when she discovered the truth. _Oh my god..._  
  
Kagome paused, breathless, a slight frown in her brow as she felt Inuyasha tense. She began to pull back, her eyes opening slowly with concern. Staring back at her, panic stricken, were not the brown eyes she'd expected, but rather amber ones. Very familiar amber ones.  
  
She gasped, pushing away from him and subsequently falling off the couch and onto the floor as her mind tried feebly to comprehend what her sight was telling her.  
  
"Oh my god..." she whispered.  
  
He swallowed, trying to get his voice to work. "Kagome..." he began, but she cut him off.  
  
"Inuyasha?!" she spat in a shocked and furious tone as the surprise in her eyes turned quickly to rage. "What -- what the hell are you doing here? What's going on?!"   
  
She shoved herself to her feet, eyes still locked on the hanyou, breath coming in tense gasps, her entire body beginning to shake with fury. "You'd better have one hell of an explanation, Inuyasha," she ground out, barely managing to control herself. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! I can't believe...I..." Tears were springing to her eyes in her utter confusion, but she fought them back.  
  
Inuyasha stood slowly, anxiety written all over his face. He was at a loss for words. Finally, swallowing, he managed to say, "I never meant for you to find out this way..."  
  
"Y-you mean you've been...all this time?"  
  
He nodded slowly in response.  
  
"And you were going to tell me this when?! Look, I don't know how the hell you managed it and I don't really care. What I want to know is _why_ you-" but she cut off abruptly, the memory of an overheard conversation suddenly springing to life in the back of her mind. _'I'll have that woman in the sack by the end of the week, so you better start trying to figure out how to get your hands on two-hundred bucks...'_  
  
The blood drained from her face as she came upon a stunned realization. "It was me...I was the poor sap you were betting on with Miroku..._I_ was the one you were going to trick into bed..." Inuyasha's silence only confirmed her conclusions.  
  
The hanyou closed his eyes miserably and put a hand to his aching forehead. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say to make it better, to make up for what he'd done. When he spoke his voice was barely above a whisper. "Kagome, it may have started out that way, but-"  
  
"No," she cut him off sharply, cold as ice and hard as diamond. "No, don't even try. If I thought badly of you before, that is nothing compared to what I feel toward you now. You used me like an object, toyed with my emotions and manipulated me to conform to your own sick, twisted little games. I have never met a more despicable, detestable, abominable person in my life, Inuyasha, and I want you out of my apartment this instant!"  
  
"Kagome, please-"  
  
"No."  
  
He was beginning to get frustrated himself. "But if you'd just let me explain-"  
  
"I said I don't want to hear it!"  
  
"Kagome," he growled, "Listen to me for just two seconds-"  
  
"No!" her control was slipping now, a stray tear escaping the fierce barricade she had erected. "I will not listen to another one of your lies, Inuyasha; I've had more than my fill of them."  
  
"They weren't-"  
  
"I want nothing more to do with you! Get out!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"Get out or I swear to god I'll call the police!"  
  
A mix of pain and anger flared deep in his amber eyes at her harsh words, made infinitely more acute because he knew he deserved every single one of them. "Fine," he snapped, lowering his head in defeat and running a hand through his hair as he went to retrieve his jacket from a chair near the door. Just as he grasped the knob, he turned back hesitantly and murmured a simple, low, "I'm sorry..." and disappeared out into the hall.  
  
No sooner had the latch clicked shut than Kagome's control crumbled and she began to cry. At first there were only silent tears, but they soon deteriorated into heavy sobs as she sank to the couch, clenching her fists in her hair. Anger, humiliation, anguish, and a million other emotions chased each other around inside her. She felt as if her whole world had been turned inside out in a matter of minutes, and no matter what she did it could never be righted.  
  
_ How could I have been so stupid?  
_  
It still hadn't fully dawned on her that Ryoga, the man she'd been falling in love with, was nothing but a fiction, a shadow, a...a lie. He didn't exist; he had never existed. And yet he had been real to her. It was as if he had died, and a part of her was likely to die with him.  
  
_Inuyasha should be pretty damn proud of himself right now,_ she thought bitterly. _Too bad he'll lose that bet. But he did manage to convince me I was in love with him, didn't he; that's a feat in itself. God damn you Inuyasha!_  
  
"God damn you Inuyasha!" she raged, aloud this time, hurling a pillow across the room against the door through which said hanyou had recently departed. _So much for the middle ground...  
  
_Through her tears she could see a glint of metal on the floor, and reaching down to retrieve the object she discovered that it was the ring that Ryoga, or rather Inuyasha _pretending_ to be Ryoga, had always worn around his neck. Come to think of it she had never seen him without it. Was it mere coincidence that the moment it had come off the illusion had disappeared and Inuyasha had reverted to his true form? That was unlikely. Chances were that this little charm had something to do with how Inuyasha had managed to deceive her so completely. And if she hadn't accidentally broken the chain tonight, there's no telling how long he would have gone on playing her for a fool -- or how far he would have taken the joke.  
  
She closed a fist tightly around the small, strangely luminescent ring, glaring at it bitterly, as though it were the hanyou himself, and then, in a fit of frustration, hurled it across the room to bounce off the door with a metallic 'tap' and land near the pillow.  
  
Once again she descended into tears, crying herself to sleep sprawled out on the couch where the two of them had sat cuddled contentedly together, not so long before.  
  
-- -- --   
  
Inuyasha did not sleep well at all that night. Every time he tried to close his eyes and fall asleep he was assailed with another wave of guilt and frustration. He tossed and turned, trying to put the incident out of his mind so he could rest and attack it fresh in the morning, but his thoughts just wouldn't cooperate.  
  
Finally he threw back the covers with a growl and got to his feet, pacing agitatedly back and forth in the dark, across the wooden floorboards. If only she'd let him explain! Why did that woman have to be so stubborn?! He couldn't blame her for being angry but the least she could do was listen to him for two minutes.  
  
He pushed aside the curtains over his window and lifted the lower pane to lean against the windowsill, breathing in the cool, calming night air. On the horizon he could see the sky beginning to lighten in anticipation of the dawn. _Dammit -- of all the ways for her to find out,_ he thought miserably. _I should have told her when I had the chance; then maybe she would have listened._  
  
_'Or she would have thrown you out just that much sooner,'_ countered a cynical little voice in the back of his head.  
  
_No, she would have heard me out, _he argued back, trying to believe it was true. _She's a reasonable person._  
  
_'But what you did was not reasonable,'_ the voice pointed out. _'You know it, and she knows it. Face it, you really fucked yourself over this time.'_  
  
_But I have to make her understand! I can't just let this go..._  
  
_'You're going to have to, sooner or later. She's never gonna forgive you after this.'_  
  
_Fuck you! I'll make her talk to me, you just wait!_ And with that he slammed the window shut with a bang and marched determinedly over to the phone, snatching it up and punching in her number.  
  
It rang once, twice, and then she answered, "Hello?" There was a small sniffle, and her voice faltered a bit as if she had been crying, though she tried to sound normal -- as if it were normal to be up at this hour in the first place. He felt another pang of guilt at the waver in her tone, knowing he had caused it, but he pushed it aside.  
  
"Kagome, I-"  
  
"Inuyasha?" she interrupted, a hint of ire in her voice now.  
  
"Yeah, it's me. I just wanted to-" _click._ He was answered with a dial tone.  
  
A frustrated growl rose in his throat as he glared at the phone, pressing the redial button. "Come on, wench, pick up," he grumbled.  
  
"Hello?" her voice answered again, this time with slight suspicion.  
  
"Don't hang up, Kagome, please, just let me-"   
  
"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number," _click._ This was getting really annoying by now.   
  
He growled again. "Alright fine. You want to play, we'll play." Once more he redialed her number, waiting for the answer.  
  
"Hello?" This time she sounded more exasperated than anything.  
  
He smirked evilly, putting on his best German accent, and said, "Guten morgen mein fraulein! I vould lie to discuss vit you about purchasing insurance, if it is alright?"  
  
"What?" she asked nonplused. "Who is this?"  
  
"For instance, in se case zat your boyfriend screws up majorly you can receive a two-hundred dollar claim, provided you take se time to listen to his explanation."  
  
"Inuyasha is that you?! You jackass, stop calling me, dammit!" _click._ Well, he hadn't really expected that to work, but at least it made him feel better.  
  
With a sigh he tossed the receiver onto the bed and turned beck to the window, where the sun was now rising in earnest. He certainly wasn't going to be getting any sleep at this point, he supposed, so he might as well just get dressed -- and try to figure out to do with the twelve or so hours he had before it was time for him to go to work.  
  
-- -- --  
  
The ring of a telephone roused Miroku from a most pleasant sleep, causing him to squint against the sun streaming through his bedroom window. The beautiful, brown-haired woman in his arms stirred slightly, but didn't wake, and he smiled down at her, despite his annoyance at having been awakened against his will.  
  
Another ring from the phone wiped that smile from his face and he reached back to the nightstand behind him to answer it.  
  
"Hello," he sighed irritatedly into the receiver.  
  
"Hey Miroku," came Inuyasha's voice from the other end.  
  
"Inuyasha?" he questioned in surprise, looking at the clock. "What are you doing up? Hell, it's not even ten, and I've never seen you out of bed before noon."  
  
He received a short growl in response. "I couldn't sleep, okay? What do you care? I just wondered if you'd meet me for lunch. I need...I need to talk to someone."  
  
Miroku raised an eyebrow. "What about? Is something wrong?"  
  
"Yes. Look, I'll explain at lunch, but I could really use some advice, okay? Can you meet me or not?"  
  
"Sure, I guess," he replied. He couldn't remember the last time Inuyasha had asked for advice. Then a thought occurred to him: "Does this have something to do with Kagome?"  
  
There was a short pause, and then: "Yeah..."  
  
"I see...where do you want to meet?"  
  
"How about that place on the corner of fifth and Grant -- Mike's?"  
  
"That's fine. I'll meet you there at noon, I just want to...finish a few things." He glanced at Sango again, and that gave him an idea: "Hey Inuyasha, how about if I ask Sango to meet us there as well?"  
  
"Sango?! Why?" the hanyou demanded.  
  
"Because she's a woman, that's why. She'll have much better insights than either of us, don't you think?"  
  
"But...she doesn't even know about the bet. We'd have to explain it to her, and I'm not sure she'd be all that happy with us."  
  
The man had a point, Miroku was forced to admit. He wasn't eager to anger the woman he'd so recently won over with great difficulty...but still... "I'll explain it to her beforehand, well enough that she won't kill us. And after all, it's not as if you went through with it -- did you?" he added incredulously.  
  
"No! Of course I didn't! Alright fine, you can bring Sango, but if she gets pissed then you're the one who's paying for it."  
  
_You have no idea,_ Miroku replied wryly in his head. "Okay, see you then."  
  
"Bye."   
  
Miroku replaced the receiver and turned his attention back to the woman beside him. She was so peaceful like this; it was hard to believe that she'd probably be yelling at him and shooting him glares in a little while, but some things simply could not be avoided. If she didn't find out from him she would undoubtedly find out from Kagome eventually -- better that it be from him.  
  
"Sango," he said gently, nudging her into consciousness.  
  
"Mmm...good morning," she mumbled, turning to face him and giving him a sleepy smile.  
  
He kissed her softly, and then said, "Come on, we have to get up. Inuyasha just called -- we're having lunch with him, if that's alright with you, and there's...well, there are a few things I should probably explain to you before we go."  
  
She eyed him suspiciously. "Like what?"  
  
"Not yet. Why don't you take a shower and get dressed while I make breakfast, and then we can talk."  
  
"Okay," she replied with a shrug as she sat up. But before she climbed out of bed, she turned back to him with a suggestive smile and said, "You know, you could join me, if you like, and then we could both make breakfast..."  
  
Miroku raised an eyebrow at her, a lascivious smirk creeping across his face as he followed her train of thought perfectly. "I think I could live with that..."  
  
-- -- --

A/N: Okay, I'll give you a million dollars (monopoly money, that is) if you can guess what I'm going to say next. Every body got their guesses all ready? Okay, here goes…

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plane. Ha! I tricked you! Oh, and by the way…please review!


	7. Seeking Absolution

Author's Note: How's this for a fast update, eh? It's been, what, five days? Not bad, if I do say so myself! Technically I should probably be updating MIA (especially since I left them with a cliffie – heh heh…oops…), but I decided to follow my inspiration and go with this one. There's at least one more chapter after this one, but I think there may be two, if things work out the way I expect them to. I'll know for sure when I post the next chapter.

Oh, also, I'll be out of town this weekend, so MIA won't be updated for another week, most likely (sorry…), but at least I'm getting something out this week. Yay me!

Now I positively must thank all you fabulous reviewers out there! This story has (for the moment, at least) surpassed MIA in reviews, even though it has four less chapters. I got over 30 for chapter six alone (--giggles like an idiot--). Awesome! I feel so loved…

Too bad this story is so short, but I seriously thought I would suck at the romantic comedy genre – guess I was wrong. Cool! Well, I'll just have to write another, longer, more involved one next…

BlackRougeDapura: You're jealous of Kagome? Aren't we all…

akina kumi-tami: Danke for the vonderful offer! Ich shall contact you if ich should have need of "Angry Reviewer Insurance" in ze future (lol). Das ist updated soon enough, ja?

DrkFire: Can't have my reviewers in pain now, can I? Read this chapter and thou shalt be healed! …or something like that…

NinJinChan: You have to download all the chapters? Ugh. I totally understand why you don't review each one. Thanks for taking the precious internet time to review this one though. I feel special!

Soul of Kagome: I UPDATED! (drama works both ways – see?) And yes, Inuyasha is definitely an idiot. But he's such an adorable idiot; I love writing him! Oh yes (--glares disapprovingly--) you were NOT first (there goes that old drama again…)! I've completely lost my faith in you now (--turns away moodily--)…but if you slit your wrists you'll _never_ find out how the story ends…(lol)

Hououza: Yeah, I watch Kenshin, though I've only seen the first four episodes so far. But actually I bought the entire series on DVD off Amazon and it just arrived the other day, though I haven't watched it yet. Anyway, I liked what I've seen so far, and I've heard good things from others. I'll let you know what I think when I've seen the rest!

sashlea: You're right! I put 'plane' instead of 'plain' (--laughs at self--). I first saw _My Fair Lady_ when I was little, and when I heard that song I always got a mental picture of an actual airplane, so I guess I never really thought about it. 'Plain' makes a lot more sense though, doesn't it? Oops… Thanks!

firebird5: Thanks for the fic's name. I haven't read that one, but I keep coming across it in people's favorite's lists, so I might have to just break down and read it…

Crazykiddo13: I made you cry?! Thank you so much! I love fics that make me cry!

Fallen-Snow: Let me see…$800,000…$900,000…$1,000,000! Yep, it's all here! (lol) Oh, looking forward to your really long email – promise I'll send you a really long reply. Unless of course _my_ busy schedule allows _me_ to send _you_ a really long email _first_, in which case _you'll_ have to send _me_ the really long reply…or I could just keep talking here and make everyone mad at me for taking so long to start the chapter…but that wouldn't be good! Oh, yeah, you convinced me, I'll check out MeganM. I've come across her, but I think I passed her over because her stories are incomplete (I'm in the middle of sooo many right now, it's hard to keep them straight sometimes). Talk to you later!

**Alter Ego**

Chapter 7: Seeking Absolution

"You did _what?!"_ A spatula clattered to the kitchen floor as Sango whirled around to glare at the brown haired man, eyes blazing in outrage.  
  
Miroku swallowed nervously at the fierce look she was directing toward him, but he stood his ground, repeating calmly, "I bet Inuyasha that he couldn't get Kagome to sleep with him, so he pretended to be this guy named Ryoga in order to win."  
  
"I can't believe you two!" she spat in disgust. "Do you have any idea how low, how...how demoralizing and _degrading_ that is? You can't just treat women like poker chips!"  
  
"Well, actually if you think about it, the two-hundred dollars would be the poker chips, and Kagome would be the cards-"  
  
"Miroku, this is not about poker!" She threw a nearby dishtowel in his face and shoved past him, marching toward the door. "And to think I actually believed you when you said you were mature enough to be in a relationship." She snatched up her purse and jacket and turned back to say scathingly, "Well I have news for you, this is not mature behavior!  
  
"Call me when you grow up!" she snapped as she made to storm out, but Miroku caught her arm before she could reach the doorknob, and pulled her back to face him.  
  
"Wait, just listen a minute, okay?" he pleaded, and the hint of panic in his eyes softened her anger, though only slightly. She heaved a heavy sigh, regarding him darkly through slitted eyes. "All right, I'm listening," the woman said in a cold tone of voice, adding silently, _This had better be good..._  
  
"Good. Okay, here's what happened: We made this bet, you know -- and I admit it was a stupid idea in hindsight-"  
  
"Just 'stupid'?"  
  
"Alright, moronic," he amended, but she raised her eyebrows skeptically in response.  
  
"And...?" she prompted.  
  
"And immature, okay?" he said, beginning to get exasperated, "May I continue, please?"  
  
"By all means," she drawled.  
  
"Thank you. Anyway it seemed like a good idea at the time -- and what can I say? Everybody makes mistakes, right?"  
  
"Mmhm," she agreed, still wary, but gradually relaxing.  
  
"Well you know how Kagome's been lately about her new boyfriend-"  
  
"The so-called _Ryoga_," Sango added contemptuously.  
  
"Right -- a.k.a. Inuyasha. She's been talking about him non-stop, right? Well here's where it gets interesting: At the same time that Kagome was falling in love with 'Ryoga', Inuyasha has been falling in love with Kagome..."  
  
That got her attention. "You're kidding..."  
  
"Nope. Not that he'll admit it, mind you, but I know my best friend, and either he's got it bad, or he's been afflicted with some rare new disease that makes you act like a lovesick puppy."  
  
"But how?" Sango asked as she dropped her things back on a nearby chair and moved back over to the kitchen to finish breakfast, her previous annoyance with Miroku all but forgotten in light of this news. "I thought their hatred was mutual?"  
  
"It was, at first," Miroku agreed, following her and helping her dish out scrambled eggs and sausages for each of them, using a fresh spatula to replace the one Sango had dropped earlier. As they sat down at the kitchen table to eat, he elaborated. "Truth is, I really have no idea what happened in between, but somewhere along the line he fell for her; I'm sure of it. The thing is, I'm still not sure even Inuyasha is aware of it -- at least not completely."  
  
"So what does this all have to do with this lunch we're meeting him for?" she inquired, still trying to get up to speed.  
  
"From the sound of it, something's happened. Maybe he got up the nerve to tell her the truth, I don't know -- that's what were going there to find out. All I know is that I can't remember the last time Inuyasha was willing to admit that he needed advice from anyone, so this must be serious."  
  
Sango wrinkled her brow in thought. "It's so complicated. I mean, There's no way Kagome will ever forgive him for a trick like that."  
  
"How can you be so sure?"  
  
"She was in love with him, that's how. Jeeze, if you suddenly pulled off your face and turned into my worst enemy, I'd never forgive you either."  
  
"Aww, I'm touched," he teased with a smirk.  
  
"Shut up," she replied, but her smirk matched his, belaying the harsh remark. "By the way, how did Inuyasha manage such a good disguise?"  
  
"Um," he hesitated, unwilling to spill his friend's most closely guarded secret without permission. But if she was going to hear the story, she'd need to know this part as well. "Well, you see...there's this thing about hanyous..."  
  
-- -- --  
  
The waiter cleared away the menus and went to place their orders, leaving Inuyasha to stare silently at his clawed fingers drumming repeatedly against the tabletop as he avoided the quiet yet penetrating gaze of the pair opposite him.  
  
"So what's this all about, Inuyasha?" Miroku began, sitting back in his chair. The hanyou glanced up briefly, then returned his eyes to his hand.  
  
"Kagome knows," he answered gravely. Miroku nodded in response, his suspicions confirmed, and Sango bit her lip in sympathy. Sure she was angry with him on Kagome's behalf, but he just looked so dejected and melancholy that she couldn't help but feel for him. Maybe Miroku was right; maybe he really did love Kagome.  
  
"How did you tell her?" Sango asked.  
  
Inuyasha winced almost imperceptibly and lifted his gaze back to the other two, a rueful look in his eye. "I didn't. She...she found out before I had a chance to tell her."  
  
"Why don't you start from the beginning," suggested Miroku. "It's easier that way."  
  
Inuyasha heaved a sigh. "Look, all that happened was that I was in her apartment and we were...well, never mind that...but anyway the necklace broke and it fell off and I -- wait a minute, Sango, do you know about-"  
  
"I told her about the necklace Inuyasha; she knows how it works."  
  
"Oh, good. So anyway, I changed back, you know, without the necklace...and she saw me, of course, and..." he trailed off.  
  
Sango watched him with ever growing sympathy. The poor guy! "What did she say?"  
  
He gave a wry laugh. "Nothing that wasn't true. But the long and short of it is that she threw me out and said she never wanted to see me again -- ever. She wouldn't even give me a chance to explain! I've tried calling her but the minute she recognizes my voice, she hangs up. What am I supposed to do now?" he asked them imploringly, "How can I get her to talk to me?"  
  
"Well, if you want my advice," began Miroku, evoking a look of trepidation from the woman next to him, which he ignored, "you should go out and buy her a nice big present. You know, chocolates or flowers or jewelry or something. Oh, or a mink stole!"  
  
Sango's expression had gone from wary to appalled, and Miroku finally took notice, turning to meet her incredulous eyes. "What?" he asked with an innocent shrug, "It works on 'I Love Lucy'..."  
  
She snorted and rolled her eyes. "A bit of advice to both of you: never, _ever,_ take relationship advice from 'I Love Lucy'. If the Ricardo's were around today they'd have been divorced long ago, and Lucy would have taken every last cent Ricky had. Honestly, the way he controls her and dominates her, like she's a little child without a mind of her-"  
  
"Excuse me, could we get back to my problem please?" Inuyasha interrupted impatiently.  
  
"Oh...yeah. Sorry," said Sango, sheepishly. "Alright, here's the thing: she's pushing you away, won't talk to you or see you or anything, right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"But you want a chance to explain and beg forgiveness and she won't let you, right?"  
  
"Maybe not _beg_ exactly..." Inuyasha mumbled indignantly.  
  
"Inuyasha..." Sango warned, "when you've screwed up this badly it's no time for pride."  
  
He shot her a glare, but then relented and agreed, "Alright, _beg_..."  
  
"Okay then; here's what you have to do..."  
  
His ears perked up in anticipation of the excellent solution that Sango, with her inside knowledge of the mysterious workings of the female mind, was sure to have come up with.  
  
"Give up."  
  
"What!" he exclaimed, bewildered. "How does that solve anything?!"  
  
Miroku looked equally curious, so she directed her reply to both of them. "Kagome needs her space. She needs time to come to terms with what's happened and figure out how she feels about everything...including you."  
  
"But how can she do that until I've had a chance to tell her how I-...I mean, until I've had the chance to explain?"  
  
Sango secretly caught the slip and smiled inwardly, but let it slide. "Inuyasha, all I can tell you is that pestering her all the time is no way to get on her good side. Trying to trick her into sleeping with you is immeasurably _worse_, mind you, but still," she added pointedly. "Just trust me on this one, alright? Give her time, give her _space_, and then try again."  
  
Inuyasha was still skeptical, but he figured since it had been his and Miroku's bright idea that had caused this mess to begin with, he was probably better off with Sango's advice than anyone else's. "If you say so..."  
  
-- -- --

Kagome lay sprawled out in her queen-sized bed, snuggled under the fluffy, beige comforter, gazing unseeingly at the sheer curtains that fluttered in the breeze at her window. After her fight with Inuyasha she'd alternated between tears and anger, sometimes both, all through the night, falling asleep occasionally for short periods, but never really getting any rest. By the next morning she'd felt like complete shit, so she'd called in sick to work and gone straight to bed. She'd slept all day and through to the next morning, waking from time to time, but never really finding the strength or the motivation to get up, so she'd simply drift back into unconsciousness.  
  
By now all her tears were spent, her anger faded, and all she was left with were idle questions and a sort of dull, quiet, detachment. She felt nothing; she cared for nothing. It was the most depressing state of mind she'd ever experienced in her adult life.  
  
Why had he done this to her? she wondered absently. Was she some sort of cosmic lightning rod to which only men with personality and commitment issues were drawn? Was there something wrong with her, that she could never seem to find a good, lasting relationship? _Why me?_  
  
She had to snap herself out of this somehow, she knew -- but how?  
  
Well, the first step, it seemed to her, would be getting out of bed. _'But why bother?'_ questioned a scornful little voice in the back of her mind. _'What's out there for you but more pain? No, it's much easier to stay right where you are -- where you won't get hurt ever again.'  
  
_Part of her wanted to listen to the voice, to just give up and go on sleeping her life away like this. Here she was safe; here she didn't have to feel anything anymore. There was a sort of solace in that detachment, as if she could curl up inside it, just like her comforter, and forget the world, as it was in the unconscious world of sleep. But the stronger part of her was determined not to give in, not to let go of her life and allow it to pass her by.  
  
It took a great effort, both mentally and physically, but she managed to push the covers aside and pull herself up to sit. Then, finally, with much yawning and stretching, she made her way into a standing position.  
  
With heavy steps, she sidled over to her door and observed her appearance in the full-length mirror that hung upon it. She wore a white tank top and plaid flannel sleep pants, rumpled and disorderly. Her hair was a mess, though it had been pulled into a rough ponytail, which had loosened considerably as she slept. Her face was drawn, her complexion pale in contrast to the dark, hollow eyes which peered out of it, devoid of their usual spirit and vitality.  
  
Heaving a sigh, she pulled open the door and shuffled into the kitchen to get something to eat; she hadn't eaten for more than a day, and now that she was up she was beginning to feel quite hungry. With no regard for her diet, for she could barely muster the energy to stand, much less control her caloric intake, she reached for the mint-chocolate chip ice cream and dished herself a heaping bowl. She then plopped down on the couch, legs curled up beneath her, and began paging listlessly through the nearest magazine.  
  
'Is He for Real?' read the title on the first article she came across, and she released a derisive snort, paging on. A bit further along, the next heading which caught her attention was 'Sex or Self: Which does he want from you? -- take the quiz...' from which she promptly turned the page with a scowl. Finally she came to an article entitled 'Is Your Man Honest?' and at that she rolled her eyes and tossed the magazine back onto the table, giving up.  
  
"They couldn't have done an article about East African Sting Beetles, or something, for once?" she muttered wryly, "Anything but that stuff. Stupid fashion magazines..."  
  
When she'd finished her ice cream she put the bowl in the sink and began to do some of the dishes, if only to occupy her otherwise idle hands. Funny how normally she always seemed to have a million things to do, but now, after basically dropping out of the human race for over a day, she couldn't seem to think of a single thing.  
  
She was just finishing with the dishes, and trying desperately to think of something to do next, when there came a knock at the door.  
  
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously in response. _If that's Inuyasha I swear I'll wring his stupid, filthy neck._ Tensing instinctively in anticipation of the encounter she slowly approached the door and unlatched the chain, pulling it toward her. She was extremely surprised to discover that it was not, in fact, Inuyasha who was on the other side, but instead...  
  
"Kouga..." she whispered in shock.  
  
He smiled that charming, roguish smile of his -- the one that was at once calm and confident, yet sly and full of hidden mischief. "Hello, Kagome."  
  
She could do nothing but gape at him, dumbfounded. When she found her voice again she asked dazedly, "Kouga...what are you doing here?"  
  
"May I come in?" he asked in turn, nodding toward her apartment, and she gave her head a shake to clear it, managing to muster a polite smile as she stepped aside to allow him entrance. "Of-of course, please, come in."  
  
He did so, surveying the apartment approvingly, hands resting in the pockets of his worn, black leather jacket. She'd always loved that jacket; it was so soft and warm, and it smelled like him, she remembered. There had been countless times when she'd forgotten to bring one of her own, so he'd offered it to her to keep her warm. Sometimes she'd forgotten on purpose just to wear it, and because he seemed to like to play at chivalry.  
  
"Nice place you have here," he commented before turning back to regard her, "And you're as beautiful as ever."  
  
She gasped, putting a hand to her chest as she realized how awful she looked at the moment. "Oh my god, I forgot. If you'll excuse me for just a minute I'll go get dressed."  
  
"No, really I meant it; you look beautiful," he assured her, stopping her by catching hold of her elbow, raising his other hand to tenderly stroke her cheek with his knuckles.  
  
She half-smiled at the gesture, without trying this time, though it was weak. It was just so..._him,_ to say that. "That's sweet, but I was about to get dressed anyway; it'll only take me a minute." And with that she disappeared into her bedroom.  
  
Once safely behind the closed door she allowed herself to express her full confusion as she changed and tried to make herself presentable. She hadn't seen or heard from this man in almost four years; what in the world could he be doing here now? Then again this was Kouga she was talking about; he had always been prone to somewhat erratic and impulsive behavior. To tell the truth that was what had first drawn her to him -- that dangerous, wild side of his. For that matter, it was also what had eventually split them up, when he decided 'on impulse' that he preferred that Kagura woman to her.  
  
Having dressed in a trim pair of khakis and a grey-blue, scoop-necked, cashmere sweater that accented her figure nicely (which she'd chosen almost unconsciously -- after all, he _was_ her ex), she made a futile attempt to tame her mussed hair and eventually gave up, twisting it into a loose sort of bun at the back of her head to be dealt with later. Finally she emerged to find Kouga sitting on the couch, his jacket lying on a nearby chair, paging through the magazine she had discarded earlier with an amused smirk on his face.  
  
He looked up when she entered, and a genuine smile replaced the smirk as he stood. "Like I said, beautiful as ever," he repeated as she came toward him.  
  
"What was it you wanted to talk to me about Kouga?" Kagome asked curiously.  
  
"Sit down," he motioned and followed her when she did as he bade. He took one of her hands between his and began in that low, attractively rough baritone of his, "Kagome, I know we didn't leave things on the best of terms between us, and that's entirely my fault. I hurt you deeply, more than I realized at the time, I think, and I'm very sorry for that. I never intended to hurt you; it just sort of...happened. What can I say? I've always been one to take what I want, when I want it, and forget the consequences of my actions. I'm not saying that's an excuse, it's just who I am.  
  
"Anyway, I came here because I wanted to tell you that...I've been thinking about you a lot lately. In fact, I can't seem to stop thinking about you; I haven't been able to for months now. I keep going over all the good times we had together, and I've come to realize that...I'm still in love with you, Kagome."  
  
Her eyes widened as he spoke, his words seeming to wash over her numbly, like chill waves on a fall lake, lapping against the rocky shore. He was still in love with her? _Kouga_ was still in love with her? Sure she'd had dreams where he came after her, professed his undying love and whisked her away, but to have it actually happen... She didn't know what to think.  
  
"Kagome," he said, seeming to steel himself up for the next part, "I want you to marry me; to be my mate."  
  
-- -- -- 

A/N: Okay, I'm not going to tell you to **review** this time, because I always tell you to **review**, and frankly if you wanted to **review** you would probably know by now that I like it when you **review** so you would not hesitate to **review**. Therefore I find it totally unnecessary to say '**please review**'.

(--grin--)


	8. Questions and Answers

Author's Note: Okay, I know I took a bit too long with this chapter – but I have good news! I'm done with school for the year (yay!) and I'm planning to concentrate mainly on this fic for the next week or two so I can finish it off. Sound good? Oh, by the way, I'm pretty sure that unless something changes drastically while I'm writing (which won't happen, I don't think) this story should end up being 10 chapters total, which means two more after this (I _really_ mean it this time). Anyway, I gotta keep this note short, 'cause I just took some cough medicine for a cold and I'm bound to fall asleep at any moment…

Thank you thank you thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I really do mean it when I say they are often the highlight of my day, and I read each and every one of them gratefully. My replies will be short today, however, since my brain is already beginning to get hazy…(--blinks dazedly--)

Fallen-Snow: This chappie is for you, since your review gave me a couple ideas for it! (--hugs--)

Hououza: I'm about halfway through watching the Kenshin anime and it's awesome! I think I'm falling in love… You should definitely see it if you have the chance.

Glyor: Yeah, I've heard Miroku and Sango described as having black hair, but in the anime, at least, they both have dark brown hair, so that's the one I'm following. Oh, and I'll try to keep up on the updating – death by muffins does not sound pleasant! lol

Amanda Trinh: Yep, Kikyo (a.k.a. the Slut – lol) is there, but have no fear – she plays no romantic role in this fic. Three cheers!

Oh, those of you who read MIA already know this, but I'm trying to figure out what story to start after this one is finished (in addition to A Noble Mind, sequel to Fortune's Fool, which I will start soon), so I'm attaching a few summaries at the bottom and I'd appreciate your opinions on which you like best. Thanks!

**Alter Ego**

Chapter 8: Questions and Answers

_"Kagome, I want you to marry me; to be my mate."_  
  
It still didn't seem real to her. Kouga Ookami, the man who'd captured her heart and then cast it aside, had actually come to her apartment the day before and _proposed_.  
  
_Kagome gaped at him, her mind a complete blank, and yet at the same time it seemed to be racing faster than the speed of light. Was he serious about this? Was this just some sort of sick joke that fate was trying to play on her?  
  
"Kouga, I...I don't know what to say..."  
  
What could she say? That she'd fallen in love with a fiction who'd disappeared and left her with the most loathsome man she'd ever had the misfortune to meet? Inuyasha, that -- that vermin, that scum, who'd toyed with her affections for his own sick, twisted pleasure...  
  
Why did he have to come back now, when she could hardly think straight? Who was it that said, 'Love and stoplights are cruel'? Whoever it was, they must have known Kagome Higurashi.  
  
Or was it just the opposite of all that? Was fate finally offering her a reprieve, an opportunity for happiness in the wake of her most recent romantic failure? Perhaps this was her chance for an escape from the pain Inuyasha had caused her, a chance to recapture a lost love, heal an old wound.  
  
"Say yes, Kagome; say that you'll come with me and be my wife, and I promise to make you the happiest woman in the world. I have an apartment in Kyoto -- I'm a doctor now, and I make a good living in my own right, enough for us both to live quite comfortably. You wouldn't even have to work at all if you don't want to, especially not as a waitress in some bar."  
  
"I...I just don't know; it's so sudden..." she said, still somewhat dazed.  
  
"I know it seems out of the blue, but you know how I am -- impulsive. I've actually been thinking about this for a long time, and I was going to call you first and try to take it slow, but a few days ago I just decided I couldn't wait any longer; I had to come tell you -- had to make you mine. You're the only woman I've ever really loved, and the only one I ever will, from this moment on -- I swear it."  
  
She was entranced by those eyes of his -- bright green and boring into her own with as much intensity as she could hear in his voice. A part of her, long forgotten, was stirred to life once more at the sight of those eyes, and she realized for the first time how much she had really missed him. There was a certain comfort in the familiarity between them, and she couldn't help but feel drawn to him, tempted by his offer and his impassioned words.  
  
But her logical side refused to allow her to fall blindly into his arms and let him whisk her away without a care. Twice now she had opened her heart, and twice she had been betrayed; she refused to allow the same thing to happen to her a third time. She needed to think this through carefully, needed to be sensible and rational, lest her heart be damaged beyond repair.  
  
"I...I need time, Kouga; I need to think about it for awhile, alright?" she said softly, giving him a look of entreaty, willing him to understand. "It's just too soon; too fast. Please?"  
  
He bowed his head in concession before returning his gaze to hers and saying, "As long as you need, I can give you. But for both our sakes, don't wait too long; don't keep us apart. I love you Kagome Higurashi." And with that he leaned in and captured her lips with a kiss, hands gently caressing her cheeks, his mouth moving sensuously over hers to draw her in deeper, charming her, reminding her of the passion that they had shared and offering to her the chance to have it once more.  
  
She closed her eyes with suppressed longing, trying to hold back, to pull away, yet seemingly unable to do so. Was this love? Was this -- the very impulse she was trying so hard to resist -- exactly what she had been searching for all along?  
  
But then, as with the colored spots that seem to dance before ones eyes after a burst of light has hit them, a pair of deep brown eyes -- or were they amber? -- flashed through her mind's eye, and she pulled away suddenly.  
  
He merely smiled at her, amused by her timidity, but understanding her need for time. At any rate, he knew he'd left an impression; she wouldn't soon forget a kiss like that.  
  
"I'll be waiting for you Kagome," he said softly, and slipped a card with his cell phone number on it into her hand, before rising to retrieve his jacket on the way to the door. But as he reached it, he paused and looked back at her, lips quirking in a smile. "Though I can't promise I'll be able to stay away..."  
  
She watched in silence as he slipped through the door, his last, velvety words sending a sort of warm thrill up her spine, making her breath catch in her throat.  
  
_ How was it that he had still managed to have such an effect on her after such a long time? she thought, as she collected a couple of empty glasses from a vacated table, and carried them back toward the bar to be put in the wash. The place was relatively uncrowded at the moment, since it was a weeknight and quite late, just as things were winding down. This was good, because it afforded Kagome time to think about her current dilemma, with which she was quite preoccupied, to say the least.  
  
She was so confused. One part of her -- admittedly, the larger part -- was still terribly attached to Ryoga, although she was well aware that he was not an option, seeing as he did not exist. On the other hand, another part of her, which had been reawakened only the night before, was drawn to Kouga. He was right -- they had been good together while it lasted, and indeed there was once a time when she had been sure, beyond any doubt, that he was the only man for her. But did that part of her still exist? Had it ever really existed, or was that love no more than an illusion, even as Ryoga himself had been? She had believed in both, and both had been proven false. How, then, was one to tell truth from illusion? If each new love felt truer than the last, how could one ever know that they had found the very truest?  
  
There were far too many questions with only a fair few answers, and her head was beginning to spin with the lot of them.  
  
_There's only one question I must ask myself at this moment, only one answer I must have: Am I in love with Kouga, now, today? And the answer...I don't know..._  
  
"Hiya, Beautiful."  
  
Kagome gasped and whirled around at the sound of that low, sexy, and all-too-familiar voice. "Kouga? What are you-"  
  
"Sorry to startle you like this, Kagome, but I just had to see you..."  
  
-- -- --  
  
Inuyasha's eyes had hardly left Kagome all evening, though he remained obediently in his place behind the bar, in accordance with Sango's advice to give her space. She ignored him, and he had expected no more, but even so it seemed as though she wasn't quite all there -- as if there were something praying on her mind. Perhaps it was him, he thought, not sure whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing. But somehow he got the feeling that that wasn't quite it.  
  
At any rate, he watched her intently, not entirely sure what it was he was watching for.  
  
"Hey, hey! Watch it man!" The customer's outburst brought Inuyasha's attention back to the drink he'd been pouring, which was now overflowing the glass and spilling onto the counter.  
  
"Oh, shit!" he cursed in a grumble, hastily putting aside the bottle of whiskey and snatching the towel from his back pocket to clean up the mess. "Sorry about that; I'll get you another."  
  
"No, that's okay, I'll just, uh, get one from the other bartender," the man answered, eying the hanyou as if he were insane, as he made his way over to Miroku.  
  
Inuyasha released a frustrated sigh, containing a hint of a growl, and threw the soaked towel irritably into the nearby laundry bin under the bar, before resting against the counter with his palms pressed flat and his silvery head hung low. This was getting ridiculous; he wasn't sure how much more of this 'space' thing he could take. It was impossible for him to concentrate on anything, especially with Kagome looking so very troubled and knowing that he was most likely the cause -- at least in part.  
  
He raked a hand through his snowy tresses and took a breath, pulling himself together. But when he looked up, an unwelcome sight met his eyes. Not too far away stood Kagome -- but she was not alone. A lean muscled, dark-haired man was with her, talking to her, and the scene was just a bit too intimate for Inuyasha's taste.  
  
The hanyou's amber eyes narrowed in mounting suspicion and his ears perked forward, concentrating on picking out the couple's conversation from the surrounding noise. He couldn't make out much, but he did manage to catch the name 'Kouga' on Kagome's lips.  
  
Kouga...where had he heard that name before?  
  
_'...I was living with this guy named Kouga -- my boyfriend at the time. We'd been going out for about a year and even sort of talked about marriage a couple times. Anyway, apparently he fell for this other girl, so he dumped me...'  
  
_ His amber eyes filled with pain and dread, locked on the couple across the room. So this was Kouga; the man who'd hurt her so badly when he left her for someone else. So why was she looking at him like that -- as if she were happy to see him? Inuyasha's youkai senses could see her eyes dilate, hear her pulse begin to race -- she was still attracted to this man. Very much so.  
  
"No..." he whispered helplessly.  
  
A low growl began in his throat, amber eyes beginning to flash with rage. _He hurt her, that son of a bitch...I'll kill him..._  
  
At the other end of the bar, Miroku took notice of his friend's odd expression as well as the presumed cause of his rising temper. It didn't take a psychic to recognize catastrophe on the horizon.  
  
"Um, excuse me for a moment folks," he said to the customers that had slowly collected at his end of the bar during the evening, due to Inuyasha's rather unpredictable mood. Not wasting a moment, he moved quickly forward to restrain the hanyou when he made to vault over the bar with the likely ambition of tearing out the other man's throat.  
  
"Inuyasha, calm down," he said sternly, with a firm grip on the man's arm.  
  
The hanyou shot an angry glare at him, growling, "Get the hell off me, houshi!"  
  
"No, not until you calm down. You can't just go around killing people for talking to Kagome-"  
  
"You don't understand!" he interrupted, "That son of a bitch is the one who deserted her! He hurt her and now I'm gonna hurt him right back!"  
  
"Don't you think that's just a tad hypocritical? After all, you hurt her too," Miroku pointed out reasonably.  
  
"That's not the point! It's -- it's different with me," he countered, though with somewhat less conviction.  
  
"How so?"  
  
"It just is, okay? Now get off me," Inuyasha grumbled, and Miroku allowed the hanyou to shake him off, knowing that he had gotten through to him enough to stop him from doing anything foolish -- well, at least anything that would get him arrested.  
  
Inuyasha's gaze returned to the couple once more, though this time, the rage was replaced with a sort of quiet despair. "I can't just sit here and watch this," he mumbled, his voice betraying only a fraction of the pain he was experiencing, "I'm no use here tonight anyway -- too distracted. I've got to get out of here."  
  
Miroku made no reply, only observing silently as the hanyou snatched his coat from just inside the staff room and pushed his way hastily out of the bar, carefully averting his eyes from the sight of Kagome and the dark-haired man who stood before her.  
  
-- -- --  
  
A flash of silver caught Kagome's eye, and she watched with a slight frown on her face as Inuyasha made his way swiftly out the door, pointedly not looking at her.  
  
"Kagome? Is everything alright?" Kouga drew her attention back onto him.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, yes -- it's nothing. I'm sorry Kouga, but it's only been a day; I don't have an answer for you yet."  
  
"I know, I know, I just wanted to ask you to come with me and get a bite to eat. I know you said you needed time, but I thought we could at least catch up with each other -- I haven't seen you in so long."  
  
She smiled lightly at his words, reminded of the way things had been with them before. This was so like him, so familiar, for him to be this way -- unable to let her out of his sight. Though it could be stifling at times, it was also a comfort and a great compliment that he should worship her so.  
  
"I can't right now; I'm working. But I can meet you afterward, if you like."  
  
"I'd love to. Where?"  
  
"The diner on the corner," she said, without a thought, "It's the only place open this late. I'll meet you there at three, alright?"  
  
"Alright; at three," he repeated, and pressed a light kiss to her lips, that nonetheless sent her head spinning with it's sweetness, before exiting the bar himself.  
  
-- -- --  
  
Inuyasha glared down at the cracked cement of the sidewalk upon which he walked, fists jammed into his pockets. Who did that guy think he was -- showing up like this, _now_ of all times? He'd seen how she was looking at him, and it was like a knife in his gut. How could she have forgiven that wolf for what he did when she refused to even listen to him, Inuyasha, for an explanation? He had half a mind to go back in there and beat the crap out of that jackass before pulling her aside and _forcing _her to listen -- but somehow he thought that probably wasn't the best way to get her to forgive him.  
  
_'Just trust me on this one, alright? Give her time, give her space, and then try again.'_  
  
"Feh," he scoffed irritably. "If I give her too much more time that fucking wolf will make a move, and who knows what will happen."  
  
-- -- --  
  
"So anyway, I finished medical school and landed a residency at Kyoto General. I've been there for about a year now."  
  
"Mm," Kagome nodded. "And how are your parents?"  
  
"They're both doing just fine -- still living in that same old house just outside the city. You know they've added another wing on."  
  
"Another? How many rooms this time?" she asked quirking an eyebrow.  
  
"Just two -- a smallish one," he responded with a wry grin. "It's got a summer porch and a new den, for my father. They had to convert his old one into an exercise room when my mother went on this fancy new 'miracle' health regimen, or something. Of course she barely used it at all after about the first month. You know how it is."  
  
"Oh yes," she replied, laughing, "That I do. You remember when my mother decided she wanted to be a photographer, and she convinced my father to have one of our bathrooms converted into a darkroom? It was only after he'd spent all the money that she discovered she was useless with a camera."  
  
Kouga chuckled softly in remembrance. "Yeah, I remember. Every time we would go over to your family's house for a holiday dinner or something your father would bring it up, muttering under his breath about how she never even brought out the camera, much less developed any film."  
  
"That's right," Kagome replied with a grin, laughing fondly. Soon her smile began to fade into thoughtfulness, and she lowered her eyes to the milkshake that sat before her. It was chocolate -- her favorite. He'd remembered after all this time.  
  
Idly, she began to swirl her straw around in the sweet, creamy, milky-brown liquid, saying nostalgically, "We did have some good times together, back then, didn't we?"  
  
Kouga laid a hand over hers, which rested upon the tabletop. "We can have more, Kagome," he said sincerely, "All it takes is a word."  
  
She lifted her eyes to meet his searchingly, finally resolving to voice the question that had been floating unanswered in the back of her mind since the man's arrival. "Kouga, why do you want to marry me?"  
  
"Because I love you," he replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"No, besides that. I mean -- why do you love me?"  
  
He frowned slightly with a small shrug, thinking. "I...I don't know _why_ I love you...I just...do. Isn't it enough that I love you and I want to be with you, without having to explain it and analyze it to death? It's just...a feeling."  
  
"But...how do you know that's what it is?"  
  
"I just know, that's all," he replied with a shrug.  
  
She shook her head with an amused sigh, deciding that was the best answer she was going to get. Just then Kagome's attention was drawn to the music that drifted in from the radio in the next room.  
  
_See the stone.. set in your eye-es...  
See the thorn.. twist in your side...  
I wait... for you...  
  
_She felt as if her heart had stopped in her chest._ Ryoga... _she thought, despite her resolve never to think of him again -- but she couldn't seem to help herself. Instantly she was back in his arms, as they had been that night, dancing to this very song in his apartment.  
  
"Kagome?" Kouga questioned, bringing her out of her reverie and back to the present.  
  
She shook her head slightly, trying to ignore the song, but it seemed it wouldn't leave her alone. "I...I really need to be getting home now," she said with a weak sort of smile. "It's late."  
  
"I'll walk you," he offered, starting to rise, but she stopped him.  
  
"No, that's alright. It's out of your way, and I was going to take a cab anyway."  
  
"Well, alright -- if you're sure."  
  
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure." As she rose to leave, he caught her arm, and she turned back to look at him.  
  
"Can I see you again tomorrow?" he asked.  
  
She smiled back at him warmly. "Sure."  
  
-- -- --  
  
Inuyasha, having already dressed for bed, but not being particularly sleepy as of yet, shuffled into his kitchen to fix himself a snack, flipping on the radio as he entered.  
  
_Sleight of hand.. and twist of fate..  
On a bed of nails.. she makes me wait..  
And I wait... without you..._  
  
He stiffened, freezing mid-step in the middle of the kitchen as the melody sunk in, reminding him inexorably of Kagome. He could all but feel her pressed against him in a warm embrace as they danced to this very song in this very apartment.  
  
Gods, he missed her. He braced a hand against the refrigerator, leaning his forehead against it, eyes closed, and letting the melody wash over him as the words took on a new depth of meaning.  
  
_My hands are tied....  
..My body bruised, she's got me wi-ith,  
Nothing to wi-in, and,  
Nothing left to lo-ose...  
  
__And you give.. yourself awa-ay..  
And you give.. yourself awa-ay..  
And you give...  
And you give...  
And you.. give.. yourself awa-ay..  
  
With or without you......  
With or with-out you, o-oh..  
I can't live......  
With or with-a-out you....  
_  
-- -- --  
  
Over the course of the next week, Kagome spent almost every night with Kouga, at the wolf's insistence. She had to admit, she loved the way he pampered her, making her feel like the only woman in the room wherever they went. It was as though time had turned backwards, allowing them to pick up right where they'd left off, and the more time she spent with him, the easier she found it to forget about 'Ryoga' and Inuyasha, and the giant mess her love life had become because of him.  
  
But even after a week, she still wasn't sure exactly what to do about Kouga's proposal. He made her happy in a way she hadn't been for a long time, except, perhaps, briefly, while Ryoga had been in her life -- but she preferred not to think of that. It seemed that Kouga had spoken true when he professed to loving her. But did she love him? Was whatever existed between them really enough upon which to build a successful marriage?  
  
Certainly there was an attraction on her part, and she was happy when she was with him, but was it enough? _Perhaps,_ she thought, _that's what love is -- a combination of familiarity and passion. But if that's all there is to it, is it really worth the trouble? Or rather, is it simply better than the alternative -- to end up alone?_  
  
She took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh. She had to make a choice sooner or later, and now she knew in her heart what she had been bound to choose all along. With determination, she picked up the receiver and dialed Kouga's number.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hello, Kouga. I have an answer for you..."  
  
-- -- --

A/N: (--winces--) Okay, I know it's a cliffy, but I swear it won't take nearly as long this time. Still, reviews always help a lot!

Oh yeah, here are the summaries. Tell me which one(s) you're most interested in:

The Best Man: AU -- Romance/Humor. Amidst preparations for Kagome's wedding, Sango, her Maid of Honor, is overjoyed when Inuyasha's brother Sesshomaru finally proposes to her. Only afterwards does Sango first encounter Miroku, who just so happens to be Inuyasha's best man, and things begin to get…complicated.  
  
Father's House, Husband's House: AU -- Romance/Humor. Kagome, daughter of a wealthy and prominent businessman, finds herself engaged to Hojo, her longtime boyfriend and the heir to another large fortune. Feeling smothered, she escapes to see the world before being railroaded into a life as no more than her husband's wife. The real world is not quite what she expected, however, least of all a certain penniless, but streetwise hanyou with whom she makes acquaintance…

Type Casting: AU -- Romance/Humor. Kagome is making her directorial debut on London's West End with a somewhat non-traditional production of Romeo and Juliet, and despite her better judgment she casts the arrogant Inuyasha Takahashi opposite Sango Kuonji in the lead roles. There is definite friction between the young director and her leading man, but will the fire between them serve to keep them warm, or simply burn down the house?

Far From Home: AU – Romance/Humor. In Ancient Greece, Kagome and Inuyasha, separated by war, wish only to be together once again. Unfortunately for them, fate seems to have made other plans, and Inuyasha gets slightly sidetracked…(based on _The Odyssey_)

What do you think? Ooooh…my head feels like it's floating and sinking at the same time…cough medicine is taking over…must go to bed now before I start spouting complete nonsense…


	9. The Importance of Being Earnest

Author's Note: Hiya guys! I'm so happy – I topped 200 reviews, plus I just recently got confirmation that I'm going to be in an opera starting in August (yay!), which is really awesome (not to mention a load off my mind). On the other hand, I'm kinda sad because I know this story is coming to an end – but at the same time I'm excited to get to work on my next fic!

Speaking of my next project, the people have spoken, and it looks like Father's House, Husband's House is gonna be it. Type Casting ran a close second, and my hope is to eventually do all of them. I have to say though that even though it didn't get a whole lot of first choice votes (which is as I expected), The Best Man is likely to be the next in line for me after FHHH because, well…I like -- so there! I know it probably won't fare quite as well on the review front because it's a Sang/Mir focus, but I don't care. Besides, you don't see all that many Sang/Mir AUs (well, I don't at least).

Well, as far as this chappie, you'll all be happy to know that it's a longish one (long for me, anyway)!

koinu-no-ai: All I can say is I think you'll like this chapter…(--grin--)

Shamanic Destiny: Thanks so much! I'm glad you like my work! As far as Kouga/Ayame, I'm afraid it just won't fit this time around, but I'm going to try to do a better job of working in more characters in my next story(s), so I'll keep Ayame in mind. She's a hard one for me to write though, because I only know her from fanfiction -- haven't come across her in the canon yet…

Crazyblade: lol! I got that 'love and stoplights' thing from a quote that my psych teacher had on his wall and I just loved it so much that I had to use it. I want to use it as a fic title sometime (as just 'Love and Stoplights') but I have yet to come up with a good plot to fit it…

StarrFire: Thanks for the review. If Type Casting is similar to another fic out there, I haven't come across it, and swear it wasn't intentional. In fact I've been avoiding reading any fics that involve the two of them in the theater so I wouldn't be influenced. The idea behind it is to play on and reinvent the old cliché of Inu and Kag playing Romeo and Juliet (usually in a high school play or something) by having it be a slightly more artistic version of the production, as well as making Kag the director instead of the ingénue. Oh, and as far as the name change for FHHH, what do you think of calling it The Train Theory (that's one of the titles I considered)? I know it doesn't make much sense without an explanation, but do you think it's any catchier? I'd love to hear your opinion.

Fallen-Snow: (--author sways slightly, head covered in laptop-shaped bruises--blink blink--) Oh ye of little faith…be patient my child -- just trust me on this one! (--grins mischievously--) lol! (P.S. good luck on that math exam – I sympathize. Math beat the crap out of me this year…I loathe calculus…)

NinJinChan: Gasp! You reviewed before you read?! (--puts back of hand to forehead melodramatically--) That's simply not done! I shall have to send the review police after you! lol

Samsonite3599: I made you cry? Thanks! Don't worry, I'd be a total hypocrite if I thought it was stupid – I cry at Jif commercials for god's sake (you know that one where the little kid makes his mom a sandwich while she's working on something and he says "I thought in case you needed a break or something…" – it's so cuuute! I'm getting teary just thinking about it…I'm so pathetic…)

Wolf: Gah! Please don't kill yourself – suicide is not the answer! (lol)

funnyfan: I'm on par with As You Wish by Keolla? Score! Haven't read that one, but I've definitely heard of it, and I know some of her other stuff. Oh, and as for the ending of this one, well, you'll just have to wait and see which one of your theories is correct, won't you…won't be long now…

**Alter Ego**

Chapter 9: The Importance of Being Earnest

"Two vodka sours, a Long Island ice tea, and a strawberry margarita with extra salt," Sango rattled off as she plunked her empty tray down on the counter in front of Miroku and leaned up against it, trying to take some of the weight off her aching feet.  
  
"Coming right up," he replied, shooting her a grin and letting his eyes linger on her just long enough for her to roll her own back at him in mock annoyance.  
  
"Will you stop leering at me while we're working, please?" she said, but her attempted exasperation barely masked the note of flattery in her voice, making him grin all the more as he fixed the drinks.  
  
"Oh come now, Sango," he retorted teasingly, faced away from her, "Would you rather I leer at all the other lovely ladies in the room?"  
  
"You do and I'll have to hurt your 'motivation' for doing so," the woman growled threateningly back with a playfully dangerous gleam in her eye, to which Miroku raised an eyebrow.  
  
"You're contradicting yourself, my dear," he warned with a sigh, placing the first three drinks on the tray between them. "If I can't leer at you, who am I supposed to leer at but the other women in the room?"  
  
She gave him a half-smirk. "I'll make you a deal: You don't leer at anyone while we're working -- including me -- and I'll..." With a surreptitious glance over her shoulder, she drew his head forward before whispering in his ear something that made his eyes go wide and his eyebrows disappear beneath his bangs. When she pulled back she was smirking at his stunned expression with a suggestive gleam in her eye.  
  
Miroku swallowed. "I think I can live with that," he mumbled, his voice only mildly husky as he carefully maintained his composure, "On one condition."  
  
"And that would be?"  
  
"This." He drew her forward into a deep and heady kiss, to which she responded willingly, her lips moving sensuously over his, eyes closed in complete and utter bliss. When they slowly drew apart, he marveled softly with a small shake of his head, "I love you," and she responded with a foxy sort of grin.   
  
"You'd better," she murmured back, and he grinned as well.  
  
"Are you two at it again?" came the irritated voice of a certain hanyou as he passed by on his way to his post behind the bar, a fresh bottle of tequila from the storage room in hand.  
  
"Shut up, Inuyasha," said Miroku as Sango blushed slightly at the interruption. They had really meant to keep their new relationship a secret at first, especially in light of Inuyasha and Kagome's current situation, but Kagome had soon managed to extract the information from Sango, and Inuyasha caught the couple making out in the staff room not long afterward, so they finally decided it would be easier to just go ahead and tell everyone the truth.  
  
The hanyou shot Miroku a moody glare over his shoulder but merely continued walking. The brown-haired man went back to fixing the margarita with a shake of his head, but Sango continued to observe Inuyasha warily. Sinking onto a nearby barstool and resting her chin in her hand, she watched with lowered brow the way the silver-haired man's jaw clenched restlessly every now and then, and his eyes kept shooting to the door as though he were looking for someone. He'd been like that all evening, and Sango had a feeling she knew exactly who it was that he was looking for; Kagome hadn't shown up for work today.  
  
"Alright, how long do you think it'll be until he flips out and goes on a rampage trying to find out where she is?" she asked, glancing toward Miroku, who was just placing the last drink onto the tray.  
  
"Who, Inuyasha?" he responded, leaning against the counter and turning his gaze to the hanyou in question as well. He shrugged. "Dunno. Why, do you think we should tell him?"  
  
That elicited a short, wry laugh from the waitress, and she replied, "I don't know about you, but _I'm_ sure as hell not going to confront him with that one. He'll find out on his own, one way or another -- that, I'm sure of."  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right. No sense in taking the risk of being in his way when he does find out; I'm not entirely certain that Inuyasha would abide by the saying 'don't kill the messenger'."  
  
-- -- --  
  
Where the hell was she? This wasn't her day off -- he'd have seen it on the schedule for sure. What if something had happened to her? She could have been hit by a car on her way here, or maybe she'd been attacked or kidnapped...or worse.  
  
But no, he assured himself, before his overactive imagination could run too far away with itself -- the others didn't seem at all worried, so apparently he was the only one who was out of the loop. He growled at that idea, his mounting frustration beginning to overcome him.  
  
She was probably out playing hooky with that goddamn wolf or something -- and _that_ thought didn't appeal to him at _all_. But if that were the case, wouldn't Kikyo be out here by now, bitching her head off about being short-staffed?  
  
By the end of the evening as the bar was closing up, there was still no sign of Kagome, and Inuyasha was just about going crazy. Finally, when the last customer had left, he couldn't take it anymore and stormed into Kikyo's office -- an action that, under normal circumstances, was highly inadvisable.  
  
"Alright, where the hell is she Kikyo? Don't tell me you don't know, because if you didn't we'd have heard about it by now. In fact nobody in this whole goddamn place seems the least bit concerned by her absence, so it seems that I'm the only one who doesn't have a clue what the fuck is going on!"  
  
Kikyo arched an elegantly formed eyebrow as she regarded him from behind the large cherry-wood desk in the plush yet stylish office of beige leather couches and wildly expensive designer art -- her personal sanctuary, into which no one was ever permitted except by her summoning. The bar was her hobby of sorts -- an engagement gift to her from her very well-to-do husband, Naraku Hiko -- and the office was to her like the bridge of Naraku's favorite yacht was to him: a place of comfort and control that was completely hers, and no one else's. Needless to say, she was often somewhat possessive of her office and she did not react well to such disturbances.  
  
However, through her recent observations, she knew full well the nature of the situation between Inuyasha and Kagome, and under the circumstances she had half-expected some such result this evening. In light of that fact, she merely took a final, calming drag of the cigarette perched between her fore and middle fingers before smothering it in the ashtray on her desk, getting to her feet and coming around to face the obviously vexed hanyou.  
  
Kikyo's collected nature did nothing to ease Inuyasha's anxiety -- in fact if anything it only agitated him further, but he struggled to remain in control and wait patiently for her answer.  
  
"I know you're under a great deal of strain, so I'll overlook your rudeness for the time being. I spoke with Kagome earlier today Inuyasha," she said in a businesslike manner, pausing only slightly before delivering the bad news. "She's resigned. Apparently an old boyfriend of hers has come into town recently and proposed marriage to her. She leaves for Kyoto in the morning." It was blunt and to the point -- classic Kikyo.  
  
With those few words all the color drained from Inuyasha's face, and his eyes grew in an expression of mingled fear and dread. _No,_ he thought, _Oh holy shit, this can't be happening._ He swallowed and sank into a nearby chair, dropping his head into his hands with his eyes closed in self-pity.  
  
Kikyo smiled slightly at his reaction -- it was precisely what she had hoped for. Any second now...  
  
Inuyasha's head snapped up suddenly, his face set in determination, golden eyes gleaming sharply. No way in hell was he letting her get off that easily, without even talking to him. Not a chance.  
  
"Thanks," he mumbled distractedly, not even looking at Kikyo as he rose and left the office poste haste, nearly crashing into Miroku, who -- naturally -- had been eavesdropping.  
  
The brown-haired bartender leaned back casually against the doorframe, watching his friend's retreating back before turning a critical gaze upon his boss. "That wasn't very nice of you, you know," he scolded, and she smirked mischievously in return.  
  
"I said nothing that wasn't true. If he comes to the wrong conclusion it's his own fault."  
  
"But you know as well as I do that she turned Kouga down."  
  
"Of course I know that -- I probably knew it before you did. But do you really think that imbecile would have had the good sense to go after her with that much determination if _he_ knew that? All I gave him was a little much-needed push; he'll take care of the rest on his own."  
  
"But Sango said that it was best for him _not_ to push -- that he should give her space," Miroku pointed out.  
  
"Yes, and she was right -- at the time. But with women like Kagome, there comes a point when you have to take a stand. She has a tendency to run away from her problems rather than facing them."  
  
"And you know this because..."  
  
"I'm observant," she replied with a clever quirk of the eyebrow. "Besides, I'm not about to lose one of my best waitresses just because Inuyasha happens to be a complete idiot when it comes to women."  
  
Miroku smiled slightly at that, saying thoughtfully, "You know, beyond that cold exterior I'm beginning to think you just might be a good old-fashioned romantic, Kikyo."  
  
She smiled back -- a softer smile than one would normally see on that exquisitely beautiful yet strong and serious face. She lifted her chin slightly, turning her eyes to the window in reflection. "You've discovered my secret, Miroku; very perceptive of you, as usual." Then her eyes met his conspiratorially. "But don't tell anyone -- it's bad for business."  
  
He grinned at her with a small laugh. "Your secret's safe with me."  
  
"Miroku?" Sango's voice called from across the bar, over near the front entrance to the building.  
  
"Coming," he called back, then glanced once again at Kikyo. " 'Night boss-lady -- the _other_ boss-lady calls," he joked, indicating Sango with a nod of his head.  
  
"Indeed," she replied, smirking. "Guess I'm not the only romantic in the room."  
  
"What can I say, I'm in love?" he shrugged and pushed off of the doorframe, closing the door with a wave and a smile as he went to join Sango where she waited for him.  
  
-- -- --  
  
Kagome was busily rifling through the top drawer of her dresser, pulling out various things to be packed in the suitcase that was spread out on her bed. She was only planning to take the bare necessities along with her on this trip -- she'd have to return in order to do a more thorough job of packing up all of her things and making the permanent move at some point, but for that she needed help, not to mention an apartment in Kyoto to move it all into. At this point she knew that it was imperative that she at least get away for awhile, lest she find herself trapped in this transitional phase for god knows how long. She simply couldn't go on like this.  
  
From the next room, there came a loud knock on her front door. _Who could that be?_ she thought, puzzled, as she went to find out.  
  
She opened the door to come face to face with the last person on earth she wanted to see at this moment -- Inuyasha. Without a word, she made to slam the door in his face, but he was too quick for her, catching it and pushing it back.  
  
"Kagome, please, I just want to talk to you," he said, his tone utterly serious, a twinge of urgency threatening to escape. He looked and sounded as if he'd just run about ten blocks. "I can't let you run off and marry that-that _Kouga_ without at least knowing the truth."  
  
"How did you know about Kouga?" she inquired coldly, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.  
  
"You told me."  
  
"Oh no I didn't, I only told Ry- oh...that was you, wasn't it," she finished in a darkly sarcastic tone of voice. "Well that's beside the point; how did you know he'd even proposed?"  
  
"Kikyo told me," he replied. "She said you were leaving on the morning train to Kyoto."  
  
"Damn Kikyo," the woman muttered ill-temperedly. "Well it's none of your business what I do anyway, so get out!" she snapped, trying once more to shut the door between them, but he refused to let her.  
  
"Please, just five minutes, Kagome," he begged fiercely, "Just hear me out for _five minutes_ and if you still refuse to speak to me, I swear I'll walk out of your life forever and never bother you again."  
  
She regarded him with distaste, but said stiffly, "Fine." Then she turned and walked into the room to allow him entrance and stood with her back to him, arms folded across her chest. "Start talking."  
  
He breathed a small sigh of relief as he closed the door quietly behind him. Now that he'd gotten past the first hurdle, he found he was somewhat at a loss as to what to say. Perhaps he should have thought this through a little further. Well, it was too late to turn back now.  
  
He took a deep breath and began. "This whole mess started out as a joke, and I guess it just sort of went too far." She gave a derisive snort, intoning wryly, "You can say that again."  
  
"I don't even remember exactly how it happened, but...I was angry at you, I guess." As he continued, traces of his old frustration seeped into his voice, and he struggled to keep them under control. "I despised you for the way you looked down on me all the time, saying that you could never in a million years be interested in a slimeball like me, for the way you always managed to beat me at every little thing -- but most of all I think I resented the fact that you...you were a better person than I was, and you knew it."  
  
"Don't blame me for your insecurities, Inuyasha," she spat venomously. "You had no right to do what you did, to treat me the way you did, even beforehand-"  
  
"I know," he interrupted her before she could begin a tirade -- as justified as it might be. "I know that now, goddamnit -- I'm just trying to tell you what happened."  
  
He took her silence as a signal to continue. "Anyway, one way or another, Miroku challenged me -- he bet me that I couldn't get you to sleep with me..." he paused a moment, seeing her stiffen, but she said nothing, so he went on, "within two weeks, and I just couldn't let it slide. I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to win, just once," he said, his voice heavy with regret and shame, "I was an asshole."  
  
"That goes without saying," she muttered, but he ignored it.  
  
"So I used this charm I'd had for years -- it makes my human side dominant while I'm wearing it, changing my appearance -- and I created this...this alter ego, I guess -- the kind of guy you'd always said you wanted; your version of Prince Charming." Unbeknownst to him, tears had begun to form in Kagome's eyes as he spoke of Ryoga, but still she said nothing.   
  
"The plan was to have this...I dunno...whirlwind romance, I suppose, and then once I had won...I would show you who I was, and rub it in your face, show you that even you could fall for a 'slimeball'," he said, the words bitter to the taste.  
  
"Well, congratulations -- you met one of your goals, at least. Too bad you lost all that money to Miroku, though," she said caustically.  
  
"No Kagome, you don't understand," he began again, desperate to get the truth across. "That was the way it all started, but...something changed along the way, and I just couldn't go through with it -- I paid Miroku before the time was up-"  
  
"Something changed?" she questioned skeptically, finally turning to face him with a glare, her voice gaining fire with each successive word. "What -- you grow a bit of a conscience? Begun to feel guilty for manipulating the poor helpless female? We both know damn well that you could have won that bet hands down that night at your apartment. I suppose I should be grateful to you for backing off, is that it?! Fuck you!"  
  
"It wasn't just that!" he countered, beginning to get frustrated himself. "I don't know what it was or when it happened, but it was more than just a conscience. Somewhere along the line I got to like being with you, and playing Ryoga became easier and easier."   
  
"That doesn't erase the fact that every goddamn word you said to me from the moment you walked into that bar was a lie! That sob story about your parents, and your relationship with your brother -- that was all nothing more than a sick twisted ploy to get me into bed-"  
  
"No it wasn't! Yes, I lied about who I was, and I'm not proud of it, but everything else was true!" He released a frustrated sigh, putting a hand to his forehead and struggling to put his confused thoughts into words.  
  
"Dammit, I'm not perfect, okay?" he blurted out, "I know that -- nobody is. But even though I was pretending to be someone else, I found myself being more _myself_ around you than I had ever been with anybody. 'Ryoga' and 'Inuyasha' may be two different people, but the fact remains that they're both me. Jesus, this isn't making any fucking sense. Okay, bottom line is that 'Inuyasha' may not be as perfect and polite and polished as 'Ryoga,' but everything that Ryoga really _was_ came from inside me," he said imploringly, eyes bright with veracity.  
  
But Kagome wasn't finished yet. "I already know _you,_ Inuyasha -- better than I care to! You're such a stupid, selfish bastard that you should have the nerve to come barging in here and dump all this crap on me after the way you fucked around with my life. What do you expect -- forgiveness? If I forgive you, will you leave me the hell alone?!"  
  
"I'm not asking for your forgiveness, because I know I don't deserve it, okay?" he retorted. "All I'm trying to do is make you understand- dammit, I don't even understand it completely myself, but I know that I need you to know what- Shit, I don't know what I'm trying to say."  
  
"Neither do I," she stated contemptuously, sending him a cold glare, "but whatever it is, you'd better make it quick. Your time's running out."  
  
He growled exasperatedly in response, "What I'm trying to say is that I like who I am around you -- I become...better, more real somehow."  
  
Finally his temper snapped, and he proceeded with reckless abandon, "Dammit, it may have been a joke or a lie or a bet or whatever the hell you want to call it in the beginning, but something changed -- _I_ changed! Despite the fact that you knew me by another name, you know me better than anyone else -- better than I knew myself -- and I _like_ the person that I've become _because_ of you. Goddammit, Kagome, _I love you,_ okay?! I need you, and I've never needed anyone. And all I know right now is that you're the only person in this whole fucking world I want to spent the rest of my life with!"  
  
"Inuyasha, why are you doing this?" she pleaded painfully, tears of anger and frustration welling in her eyes.  
  
"Because I love you!" he shouted, but she countered aggravatedly, "Stop saying that, because you don't! If you loved me then how could you do this to me?"  
  
"I _do_ love you Kagome-"  
  
"You don't even know what love _is!"_ she spat, and a silence fell between them, so heavy and thick it could be cut with a knife. After a pause he replied pointedly, his voice quiet but sure, "Do you?"  
  
She opened her mouth to retort, but no words came. Finally she gave a weary sigh and lowered her gaze to the floor, murmuring achingly, "I miss Ryoga..."  
  
"You don't have to," Inuyasha replied softly, "He's right here."  
  
Her eyes met his fully for the first time in a week -- since she had found out the truth -- but they were dull and hollow, lacking their usual radiance, betraying no emotion but strain, and Inuyasha felt once more the familiar twinge of guilt as he gazed back into their scarred depths.  
  
He stepped toward her, amber eyes willing her to let him in, to understand and believe him. "Kagome, please," he entreated when he was less than a foot in front of her, "Just give me a chance...one more chance..." his voice trailed off, words failing him at last, so instead he lifted a hand to caress her cheek, and when her lids fell closed, he drew her forward into a kiss.  
  
It was slow at first, tentative and beseeching on his part, but with her eyes closed like this, the taste and feel of him so familiar, she soon found herself being drawn in, her arms moving of their own accord to wrap around his neck and pull him deeper. She had wanted this -- she had needed this, ever since that day. In that instant, everything felt so right that she could almost convince herself that this really was Ryoga, that he was real and he was here in her arms, as if nothing had ever happened. But then, when she slipped her tongue inside his mouth to taste more of him, the telltale prick of Inuyasha's fang was enough to bring her back to her senses, and she broke away, suddenly furious once more.  
  
"No, Inuyasha!" she yelled angrily, shoving him back to distance herself. "No, it doesn't work this way! You can't just come in here and tell me you love me and expect everything to be alright. That doesn't erase what you did, and I can't forgive you for that -- I can't trust you!"  
  
"What am I supposed to do then, huh?!" he demanded, seeing all the hard-won progress he'd made with her during their conversation slipping away before his eyes. "I swear to you, Kagome, that I will never intentionally hurt you again, nor will I let anyone else hurt you. I made a mistake -- a terrible mistake -- and I'm sorry for that, but I can't stand the thought of you going off and marrying that fucking wolf and-"  
  
"I'm not marrying Kouga, you jackass, so if this is just some stupid competition thing then you can just forget it right now!" she interrupted.  
  
"It's not just- wait a minute...what?"  
  
"I'm not marrying Kouga; I turned him down."  
  
"Then why the fuck are you going to Kyoto?!" he demanded.  
  
"To get away from you, that's why! I left there because I couldn't stand to be around Kouga all the time after he and I broke up -- I thought if I could start over, things would be different. Obviously I was wrong, since you've managed to hurt me twice as badly as Kouga ever did," she shot at him. "Looks like trouble follows me wherever I go, so I might just as well be back there where I have family, at least. I'm going to live with my parents."  
  
"But-"  
  
"No, goddammit, this conversation has gone on long enough. I think it's best if you leave, Inuyasha. I have a lot of packing to do before tomorrow morning." She turned her back to him once more, and all he could do was look at her, his words all spent to no avail. There was nothing more for him to say, except goodbye.  
  
"So that's it then," he said quietly. "Alright, Kagome, have it your way." He turned resignedly to leave, grasping the knob and opening the door with painful slowness, part of him praying for her to relent and stop him. But he had promised to leave and never bother her again if she wished it, and he'd be damned if he was going to break whatever fragile remnant of trust she might still have in him, regardless of the outcome. Just before stepping out into the hallway, he glanced once more over his shoulder, looking on her delicate yet determined form for the last time, and said softly, "Goodbye."

-- -- --

A/N: Wait -- don't kill me yet, I'm begging you! There's still one chapter left (and possibly an epilogue, if it makes sense…we'll see) – just trust me, I know what I'm doing…

Say, I asked this of StarrFire in my review reply, but I guess I might as well ask everyone while I'm at it. I'm going back and forth on whether to change the title of Father's House, Husband's House to The Train Theory (there's an explanation behind that one, but I can't really go into it here). Which do you guys think is catchier?

Please Review! TTFN!

(whoa, with the notes this chappie is over 5000 words – I think that's my longest so far…cool!)


	10. Introspection

Author's Note: Okay, originally this was supposed to be the last chapter, but when I wrote the whole thing it turned out to be about twice as long as a normal chappie anyway, and I'm not quite sure I'm completely happy with the ending yet, so I wanted to tweak it a bit more. Anyway, I decided to cut it in half so I could give you this part now while I put the finishing touches on the end (though there will also be an epilogue following that, just so you know). But a lot of you have been asking me to make it longer anyway, so I suppose you'll be happy with that at least!

Also, as some of you may have noticed, the first chapter of Father's House, Husband's House (and yes, I eventually decided to go with that title after all) is posted, so please read it and review!

Well, from the sound of things I've got a regular sob-fest going on out there…tissues all around! Hope you all enjoy the last few chappies and thank you so much for the reviews!

Izayoi: (--Hugs--) Thanks!! Glad you like it! Can't wait to hear about the new project you're considering and hope the move goes alright.

a fan –duh: A sequel? Hmmm…maybe… I'd love to do one, and actually I've thought about the possibility, but I haven't been able to come up with anything in the way of a plot so far (and it's _really_ hard to write a story with no plot – lol). I'll keep it in mind though. Any ideas?

Crazyblade: Actually that gave me an idea – the random meetings thing…hmmm…maybe I can do something with that. Thanks!

Miko Ariko-901: lol! Yeah, I know, I guess I kinda use the "--" a lot don't I… I used to use asterisks for some of the things I use it for now, but the quick-edit on ff.net doesn't like asterisks, so it kept taking them out. Oh well!

Chibi Horsewoman: Beware the ChibiUsa clones…I don't think I want to risk suffering that fate, so I'll be sure to write a good ending – lest I provoke your wrath. lol!

Kirro: You know, I used to avoid AUs like the plague – obviously I've changed my mind on that one! I'm glad you like it though, and I look forward to hearing what you think of my other stuff.

angelwarrior2: Well, it's a _little_ longer…that's good, right? I'd extend it further if I could, but I hate it when stories get dragged out simply for the sake of being dragged out – that's no good. If people want me to I might consider trying to figure out a sequel, but like I said above, I don't even have an idea for a plot – if you have any ideas I'd be glad to hear them!

antisocial mint: A San/Inu pairing? (--winces--) Probably not…sorry. I just have trouble seeing them with anyone but the people they're supposed to be with – if I wrote it it would come off awkward and shallow, most likely. I'm flexible with Sess sometimes, but other than that I pretty much stick to the canon (pairing-wise). Love your penname by the way, though!

reader: Thank you! If my career in showbiz fails, writing is my next choice.

Fallen-Snow: Yeah, Kag may be a bit more forgiving in the canon, but keep in mind that she's about ten years older here, and if I recall correctly, the canon Inuyasha never tried to trick her into bed (lol). And as far as what Sango bribed Miroku with…I wonder too! I mean, I know the 'category' but I'm not sure of the specifics…(--grin--)

sailor-scribe: Folks, we have a celebrity in our midst -- sailor-scribe, acclaimed author of The Ad! (--grins like an idiot--) Thank you sooo much! Man, you're really fast though…you've done like four chapters in the time it takes me to do one (that last one was awesome by the way – I'm gonna review it as soon as I post this)

**Alter Ego**

Chapter 10: Introspection

Kagome sighed quietly, leaning her head back against the seat and gazing unseeingly out the window at the countryside as it rushed past, the steady rumble and sway of the train lulling her into reflection.  
  
_"Are you sure about this Kagome?" asked Sango for the hundredth time that morning as the two women and Miroku stood at the platform before the train.  
  
"I'm sure," she answered yet again, "This is the way things have to be."   
  
"There isn't anything we can do to change your mind?" The woman gave her a searching look, but Kagome refused to waver. "No, Sango. I have to go; it's best this way, really it is."  
  
Her friend sighed. "Alright then, if you're sure. Goodbye Kagome -- we'll miss you."   
  
The two women embraced tightly. "I'll miss you too Sango, and you Miroku," she replied, her throat tightening a bit in sorrow.  
  
"You'd better come back and visit us, though, okay?" Miroku said with a sad smile. "And remember, if you don't, I'm the one who's gonna get punished for it."  
  
Sango shot him a glare, but Kagome merely laughed and wiped away a small tear that had escaped her eye as she nodded. "Don't worry, I won't forget. But you two have to promise to visit me in Kyoto, alright?"  
  
"Deal," the man answered.  
  
After a moment's hesitation, she gave Miroku a hug as well, knowing that with Sango in range his self-preservation instincts, if nothing else, would prevent him from groping her.  
  
"Well," she said somewhat sadly as she pulled back once more, "I guess I'd better be going now. Bye." With that she readjusted her purse, took hold of the handle on her suitcase, and headed off toward the train's entrance, turning back just before boarding to give one final wave and seeing Miroku place a comforting arm around Sango's shoulders..._  
  
She'd feel better once she reached Kyoto -- at least she hoped she would. All she needed right now was to be home, with her family, and everything would be alright. It always had been before.  
  
Weariness began to overtake her; she'd hardly slept a wink the night before, what with all the packing she'd had to do -- not to mention the fact that her argument with Inuyasha had left her feeling somewhat anxious, no matter how much she tried to deny the fact that thoughts of him could keep her up at night. Now, feeling the effects of that sleep deprivation, she gave in to the urge to rest awhile, allowing her eyelids to drift closed and sleep to come upon her.  
  
-- -- --  
  
The house where Kagome had grown up was the same as it had always been. It wasn't a mansion, or at least Kagome had never thought of it as such, but it was large enough that her friends had often commented on it when they first came to visit. Although the Higurashis were undoubtedly on the higher end of the middle class in the financial sense, enough so that money was never a concern, they weren't so very wealthy and powerful as to be conspicuous.  
  
Kagome had always felt that, although she suspected she'd been slightly spoiled in her youth, they were a very healthy and loving family overall. Her father was a bit overindulgent at times, her mother occasionally somewhat cross, and her younger brother slightly over-angelic (when compared to her in her teenaged years) resulting in a bit of jealousy on her part; but when all was said and done, there had always been love among them.  
  
Considering the turmoil of her social life of late, Kagome was quite relieved to be home. Nonetheless, even after nearly a month spent in the company of her loved ones, there still seemed to be a sort of gloomy cloud hanging over her head that simply would not leave her alone. There were times when she could keep it at bay to some extent, but it always returned, and no matter how she tried to hide it she highly suspected that her family knew something was wrong.  
  
She hadn't told them exactly what had happened, preferring instead to push it from her mind completely, hoping that if no one new about it then it would cease to haunt her so. All she had given in answer to their queries was that she'd felt she needed a change of pace, that perhaps she would go back to school for a while and finish her degree -- a notion that pleased her father greatly.  
  
The afternoon sun illuminated the world outside her open window, the breeze rustling in the trees, and she simply lay there on her bed, fully clothed, but utterly lacking in the motivation to go and do anything. For the first week or so she had been able to distract herself quite effectively with things around the house like unpacking and helping out in the kitchen, but these tasks had gradually decreased in potency at staving off that pesky gloom.  
  
Finally it had come to this, just lying here, doing nothing but allowing her mind to wander. She was weary from the effort of locking everything away inside her, and she had eventually given up. If her mind insisted on pondering things that would only destroy her further, so be it.  
  
Little snapshots and images from over the past month and a half, during all this mess, floated incongruously about in her brain. There seemed to be no order to them, no reason for their coming to the surface, so she merely let them wash over her numbly.  
  
_ ..."-stop by and see if you needed any-" she broke off abruptly when the door swung open to reveal a particularly haggard looking Ryoga, rumpled pink apron tied at an odd angle, some sort of red sauce splattered in his dark hair, as well as on the end of his nose, covered from head to toe in baking ingredients, with a rather large smudge of flour on his cheek to top it off. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud at his comical appearance...  
  
_ _...Kagome met Inuyasha's gaze with a grin, shaking her head. "Come on, let's get this cleaned up and start over. Something tells me you haven't done a whole lot of cooking -- am I right?"  
  
"Whatever gave you that idea?" he answered with a raise of the eyebrow and a wry smirk..._  
  
.  
  
_ ...Her eyes narrowed, boring into him. If looks could kill, he'd be one very dead doggie by now. "Thank god not all men are like you. Ryoga's sweet and kind. He would never-"  
  
He interrupted her with a laugh, "Feh. Never what? Be as rude or as stupid as me I suppose? You've got a lot to learn, bitch, if you think any man's a saint. Even your precious Ryoga."...__  
  
._  
_  
..."This really isn't necessary, Ryoga. It's just a little burn," the woman argued, but she allowed him to take her hand once again and begin applying a thin coat of clear goo to the abused skin. She drew in a short breath with a hiss at the first sting, but as he gently massaged the injury she felt the skin going pleasantly numb.   
  
"Thanks," she said quietly, smiling at him as he met her eyes. For a moment they just held each other's gaze, her hand still enclosed within his...  
_  
.  
  
_ ...without a second thought he bent his head and captured her lips with his. The kiss was at once sweet and hungry, asking, demanding, pleading. She accepted him willingly, so deep was the trust and the need radiating from within her. He could feel it, taste it in her kiss.  
  
"Ryoga..." she breathed, her fingers entangling themselves in his hair, trying to pull him closer, pressing herself more firmly against him...  
  
_.  
  
_...It was slow at first, tentative and beseeching on his part, but with her eyes closed like this, the taste and feel of him so familiar, she soon found herself being drawn in, her arms moving of their own accord to wrap around his neck and pull him deeper. She had wanted this -- she had needed this, ever since that day. In that instant, everything felt so right that she could almost convince herself that this really was Ryoga, that he was real and he was here in her arms, as if nothing had ever happened..._  
  
.  
  
_ ...She shoved herself to her feet, eyes still locked on the hanyou, breath coming in tense gasps, her entire body beginning to shake with fury. "You'd better have one hell of an explanation, Inuyasha," she ground out, barely managing to control herself. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! I can't believe...I..." Tears were springing to her eyes in her utter confusion, but she fought them back.  
  
Inuyasha stood slowly, anxiety written all over his face. He was at a loss for words. Finally, swallowing, he managed to say, "I never meant for you to find out this way..."...  
  
.  
  
..."No, I mean right before that, I thought I heard you say...nevermind," she finished with a shake of her head. 'Really, it can't be that uncommon, can it?' she thought. 'But I would have sworn Ryoga sounded just like Inuyasha a moment ago...'...  
  
.  
_  
_ ...'But even though I was pretending to be someone else, I found myself being more _myself _around you than I had ever been with anybody'...  
  
_Inuyasha's words seemed to hang in the air like an echo, as if they had only just been spoken. _No,_ she thought firmly, _I refuse to give in to a moment of weakness. I did the right thing in leaving, I know I did. I have to try to move past this...but why is it so difficult?_  
  
Just then there came a soft knock on her door, bringing Kagome out of her reverie as her mother entered the room to come and sit on the edge of the bed.The elder Higurashi observed her daughter with a look of worry mingled with sympathy. "Kagome dear, you've been moping around the house for three solid weeks now; it's not healthy. Can't you at least tell me what the trouble is?"  
  
Kagome sighed heavily. "It's nothing Mom, really. I just needed a change is all, like I told you before."  
  
"That's a load of bull and you know it sweetheart," she scolded. "Alright, fine, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to -- I completely understand and respect your right to privacy, but I just can't stand to see you like this. You should get out for awhile, go for a walk or get together with some of your old friends."  
  
"But Momma, that's not going to help. I just want to be alone for awhile; it'll wear off."  
  
"No it won't, not like this. You have to at least make an effort to rejoin the living. Sulking alone in your room will never solve anything for you, that much I'm sure of.   
  
"I know," she continued, eyes lighting as an idea began to take shape in her mind, "Do you remember Akari Takumi?"  
  
"She was a friend of yours, wasn't she?" Kagome replied. "What about her?"  
  
"Well, she has a son about your age, and last I heard he was visiting her-"  
  
"Mother please tell me you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting," the young woman groaned, dreading the answer that she knew was coming.  
  
"Well why not? A blind date might be just what you need right now to get you back on your feet again."  
  
"If there's anything I _don't_ need right now, it's a date," she protested, adding under her breath, "and I've had quite enough of 'blindness,' when it comes to men, to last me a lifetime."  
  
"Oh don't be silly, dear."  
  
"No, Mother, absolutely not."  
  
Mrs. Higurashi let out a frustrated sigh. "Kagome please, if not for yourself, at least do it for me, hm? For my peace of mind?"  
  
The young woman eyed her mother, debating whether or not to stand her ground on this one, but at the look in the older woman's eye she finally conceded defeat. "Alright Mother," she said wearily, "If it'll make you feel better I'll go on a date with him. _One date_ -- will that make you happy?"  
  
"Immeasurably," she answered, smiling and rising to move toward the door. "I'll call over there and ask him to pick you up around seven this evening, alright?"  
  
"Whatever you say Mother -- I'll be ready then."  
  
As the door clicked shut, Kagome released a bemused sigh. A grown woman being set up on a blind date by her mother -- had she really sunk so low as all that?  
  
-- -- --  
  
The young man -- who's name, Kagome soon learned, was Edward Rojenko Jean-Pierre Takumi IV (apparently his family was very proud of their mixed heritage) -- arrived at _precisely_ seven o'clock; in fact, by the looks of him, he was one of those people who was so punctual that the military would call him up before an operation in order to be certain that all operatives' watches were synchronized to correspond to the _exact_ positions of all the heavenly bodies in the cosmos at a given moment.  
  
He greeted her formally at the door, bowing and even taking her hand to kiss it chastely, while she could do nothing but gape at him. _Oh my lord,_ she mused, _Is this guy serious? I mean, I'm all for chivalry and manners and all, but this is ridiculous...  
  
It's gonna be a looong evening, _she thought as he _escorted_ her --for there was no other word for it -- to his waiting car and they set off for the restaurant.  
  
They were seated immediately, Edward of course insisting on holding Kagome's chair for her before taking his own seat and ordering a fine bottle of Chateaux Briand for the pair of them. Within the first fifteen minutes of their conversation the woman learned that her date had graduated summa comme laude from Oxford, double-majoring in philosophy and political theory, with a minor in British literature; that he was the five-time winner of the Platinum Cork, the most prestigious wine tasting award in the world; that he had published his first book on the impact of Marxism on the Eastern world, as compared and contrasted with that upon the Western world, and the resulting Cold War, tracking it's roots back through thousands of years of cultural history and differences; and that he was widely considered to be the world's youngest expert on the life and works of Edgar Allen Poe. She learned all this, however, without uttering a single word in reply or encouragement.  
  
Once Edward had started in on his personal interpretation of Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum," and it's significance in today's world, she realized that he was quite content to continue rambling to himself whether she was listening or not, so she took to nodding along politely and tuned him out, retreating into her own thoughts.  
  
It wasn't long before a certain silver-haired hanyou managed to wander lazily into them. Before her glazed-over eyes, an image of Inuyasha sauntered up out of nowhere, arms crossed casually in front of his chest as he observed the man continuing to jabber away at Kagome, though it was as if the rest of the world were on mute, and only she and Inuyasha could be heard.  
  
"Seriously Kagome -- this guy?" he said, quirking a questioning eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding..."  
  
"I'll have you know that Edward just happens to be an intelligent, well-educated, responsible, and _courteous_ gentleman," she retorted primly, silently adding, _Not to mention a complete bore..._  
  
"I heard that," Inuyasha said with a smirk. "I'm a figment of your imagination Kagome; do you really think you can hide anything from me?"  
  
"Arrogant jackass..." she muttered in response.  
  
"Hey, you're in no position to be calling anyone arrogant, wench -- not when you're dating a turkey like this," he jerked his head to indicate Edward. "Your judgment of personality is obviously severely out of whack."  
  
Kagome crossed her arms, slouching back in her chair to regard him ironically. "Oh, and this from the guy who invented a second personality -- the polar opposite of himself -- in order to seduce his worst enemy, and then wound up becoming so confused that he couldn't remember which was which? I'd say if we're going to be analyzing anybody's character judgment, it should be yours."  
  
"I'm not the one who's confused here, wench," he responded with a shrug, "I know exactly who I am and what I want. It's _you_ who can't seem to see past the illusions in front of you to the truth. After all, whatever else might have happened, I am and always have been a single individual playing multiple roles. 'Ryoga' has no more substance than that which I, Inuyasha, gave him, and therefore everything he was must have come from within me, right? But did it ever occur to you that maybe the Inuyasha you _think_ you know so well -- the 'arrogant jackass,' if you will -- is no less of an illusion than Ryoga was?"  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome retorted skeptically, to which the imaginary Inuyasha shrugged again and replied, "You know exactly what it means -- I'm in _your_ head, after all...wait, you do know _that,_ don't you?"  
  
She shot a glare in response to his teasing smirk and said dryly, "Indulge me."  
  
Inuyasha sighed patronizingly and said, "Alright, fine, I'll break it down for you if you insist: You only know me as the 'arrogant jackass,' slimeball, hanyou drink-slinger, right? The one you loathe, who hurls insults at you and provokes you non-stop, berating you for your non-existent sex life and your prissy, stuck-up attitude. Sound about right?"  
  
"Yes," she conceded carefully.  
  
"Then there's Ryoga, on the other hand, who -- in your own words -- is so different from me that I 'couldn't even begin to understand someone like him,' -- correct?"  
  
"Yes," she said again, still cautious.  
  
"Yet both are 'played' by the same person. The only reason you believe that the 'arrogant jackass' is the real me is because that's the one you met first -- not to mention the fact that you associate that side of my personality with my true appearance, as opposed to my human form."  
  
"Okay, you are officially _way_ too profound to be Inuyasha," she criticized.  
  
"Duh, that's because I'm _not_ Inuyasha -- I'm a figment of your imagination, remember? I only look like Inuyasha because _you_ can't get him off your mind."  
  
"Well it's not for lack of trying, that's for sure," she grumbled sarcastically.  
  
"Actually, if you think about it I'm really more _you_ than him -- or more specifically, the part of you that _is_ him."  
  
"Now you're just confusing me," she complained.  
  
"I know," he grinned mischievously, "It's so much fun!"  
  
Her patience was growing ever thinner. "Whatever -- were you planning to make a point anytime soon?"  
  
"Haven't I gotten to it yet? Oh, guess not. Well anyway, the point is that if you really think about it and look back at all your experiences with both sides of me -- the Inuyasha me, that is; not the me that is the part of you that is him-"  
  
"I get it already," she interrupted impatiently, "Let it drop, will you?!"  
  
"Right -- okay, so if you look back you'll see that there are more commonalities between the two sides than you think there are. The overlap -- the parts of both personalities that are the same -- that's the real Inuyasha right there. And once you look past the illusions to the real him -- or rather, the real _me..._sort of -- I think you'll find that everything you really loved about Ryoga is still there."  
  
"And how do you know that, exactly?" she huffed defensively.  
  
"Because you've already seen it, or else I couldn't exist. I told you, you already know all this deep down -- I'm only here to connect the dots."  
  
Her first instinct was to protest, but then she realized that he was absolutely right. Hell, she could have come to the same conclusion long ago, if it hadn't been for the all the defenses she had built up unwittingly around her heart and mind in order to protect herself from further hurt.  
  
"Love means risk, Kagome," Inuyasha said, as if reading her thoughts -- which wouldn't be difficult, considering he was part of them. "If you're going to go swimming, you've got to get wet -- so why not take a chance? Just one more chance? You can't keep running forever."  
  
The woman drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly in resignation. Finally she conceded softly, "You're right -- I can't. And I'm not going to."  
  
Inuyasha grinned at her in a satisfied manner. "Good girl," he said with a quiet sort of approval; and with that he winked at her and turned to wander off, fading into nothingness before he'd even gone ten paces.  
  
That was when the sound around her seemed to come back on, and she realized that the man in front of her was still happily chatting away, completely oblivious to the fact that she had been zoned out, staring into space for nearly twenty minutes. _Feh,_ she thought jokingly, an inward sort of smile spreading across her lips.  
  
-- -- --

A/N: Well, what do you think? By the way, I have no idea how to spell either 'Chateaux Briand' or 'summa comme laude' so I took a guess. Hope I got close! Anyway, you get the idea…

Also, I've had a request for a sequel, but as I said in the review replies, I don't even have an idea for a plot, and I kind of tend to think that this story works better as a stand-alone. I guess what I'm asking is, would people be interested in a sequel, and if so, any ideas as to what it might be about? If I get inspired, I may consider it…

Other than that, please review (and read FHHH, pretty please!)…


	11. The Middle Ground

Author's Note: Okay, sorry if I confused you with the last author's note. I think most people understood, but some seemed a bit confused as to whether there was another chapter or not. Guess what – there is! This, however (Chapter 11), is the last full chapter of the story. There will be an epilogue of some sort, which I have begun to write, but I may update a couple of other stories before I post the epilogue, since the main body of this story will have been concluded and I've left MIA alone for longer than I intended to.

    Also, regarding the idea of a sequel, I have decided (as many of you have agreed) that this story really works best as a stand-alone. So as of now, unless at some point in the future I just happen to come up with some spectacular idea that would be absolutely _perfect_ as a follow up to this, there will be no sequel. Sorry to those who wanted one, and always feel free to send in ideas if you like. You never know what might inspire me to a new story, so suggestions are always much appreciated!

    Oh, just to clarify because a few people asked about the imaginary Inuyasha (I knew that would happen…) – no, he was not actually there, he was just a visual representation of Kagome's inner dialogue (yes inner _dialogue_, because in this case she's essentially having a conversation, as opposed to a monologue in which she would be merely thinking verbally). It was based on a scene from an episode of _Friends_ involving Ross and Rachel, if anyone is curious. Needless to say, it was kinda tricky to translate into narrative, but I couldn't resist (--grin--)!

    Thank you all so much for the reviews and everything! A few of you have asked me to read stuff of yours or to email you or whatever, and you have no idea how much I appreciate it. I try to respond to your requests, but (I admit it) I have a really bad memory and I tend to procrastinate, so if you've asked me to review your story or something and I haven't, yell at me please!

sailor-scribe: Of course you would have made it a cliffhanger, oh mighty Queen (--grin--). And yes, you are a celebrity – if I knew what you looked like _I'd_ ask for your autograph (lol)

Fallen-Snow: Did I cut the last chappie of Fourtune's Fool in half too?! I'd forgotten that…you know me so well (--grin--). And you're right about the flashbacks. I should have tweaked them more than I did and done like you said, separating the dialogue and the narrative (you know what I mean). You should have seen them when I first did it – each one was like three paragraphs long, and I was like 'this is ridiculous – I've just copy/pasted the entire story into the last chapter…' (lol). Oh, and I actually thought about putting the flashbacks on the train originally, but then the time jump kinda made that not work so well (--shrugs--). Oh well…live and learn ('and then get Luvs!' – lol…sorry, every time I use that phrase the Luvs commercial comes to mind…). And you know you never annoy me – what would I do without my favorite critic?

pinksakurablossom07: Well, if it's opposite day, I suppose I would have to say 'I hate you too, and I hope you loathe and despise the rest of the story! Never talk to me ever again!' (lol – nope, thankfully no one's ever told me they hated this story…you're the first! --grin--)

Izayoi: I dunno, if you count all his titles Dumbledore's name is pretty long …'Order of Merlin – first class, Supreme Mugwump (lol – I love that one!), etc., etc…' (--grin--)

skylark624: Oooh, I got closer on the spelling than I thought I did – cool! And as far as Kikyo, frankly I do like to write her as evil on occasion, but mainly because I think it's fun to write evil female characters, and she's easy to slant that way; but I also like writing her like this. She's she kind of character I really like to play (as an actress) when I get the opportunity, both as the evil type and the not-so-evil type. (--shrugs--) She's interesting…

Divine-Red-Crayon: Not just a fan, but an _uber_ fan? lol – thanks! Glad I'm keeping you entertained…Arizona, eh? I wouldn't survive long there – even summer in _Minnesota_ is too hot for _my_ taste. I'm more of a winter person, I think. Good luck! (oh, and yes, there's an epilogue)

Christine: Yeah, I guess I went a bit philosophical on that one. No, he wasn't really there, she was just sort of daydreaming, I guess, and a lot of what 'Inu' was saying was meant to confuse her (just for fun). Anyway, if you're still confused after this chapter, ask again and I'll try to clarify it further. (--grin--)

Jan-chan07: I know exactly what you mean about short chapters. I had the same problem with my first story (it was so frustrating!). After that I set a rule for myself that every chap had to be at least 3000 words long (well, unless there's a very good reason to make it shorter…like a cliffhanger, for example. But even so, they're always at least 2500 or so, and only one or two have been under 3000 – most are closer to 4000). Eventually you get used to the length, and you can predict about how long you think a scene will take even before you write it. Glad you like my writing style (that's a huge compliment, honestly) and my grammar (I'm a grammar freak…just ask Izayoi)

Baybe-Dinez: Um…sorry, but I'm not going to be on a soap (I wish I was, but unfortunately not). Maybe you were thinking of someone else? I am going to be in an opera (as in singing, not a _soap_ opera), so maybe that's what confused you. Oh, did I review your story? I can't remember…I'll have to go check. Anyway, thanks!

sailorcrystaldestiny: Thanks! Actually, I really appreciate you saying that my writing has improved since FF – I think it has too. FF was alright, but looking back at it I can see too much of my old middle school writing style, since it was the first thing I'd written since then (about three years previous). And when are you going to update that story? I want to read more – I haven't read any Ranmafics in ages…

antisocial mint: Definitely let me know if you do write that fic and (--puts aside anti-Sang/Inu bias with slight difficulty--) I'll gladly read it. (--grin--)

anime-craziegurl16: Nooo! Call off the squirrels, please! I promise, that wasn't the end!

Lenni: Yay! Someone else made the same mistake! I feel better now! 'The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plane'…lol – it really doesn't make much sense that way does it… Ooh, and that's weird about the songs and stuff. You know, that's the trouble with fanfics, though – you can't put background music in. The closest you can get is a songfic. I'm always thinking of these songs that would compliment a story perfectly, if only I could put them in the background. Oh well…I'll just have to direct movies someday, I guess. Oh yeah, sorry, but I don't know who said the 'love and stoplights' quote. The sign was across the room (in my psych class) from me on the wall, and the name was in small print so I couldn't make it out. If I ever find out I'll tell you though.

Daedreamer: Yeah, I was going for a sort of mix between funny and serious in that scene. It was a bit philosophical, but I wanted to keep it light so it wouldn't drag. Glad you liked it!

    Okay, I officially talk waaay too much. Sorry guys if these long review replies bug you or anything…and to think there were even more that I wanted to reply to but didn't because it was getting so long. You know, the way I talk here, who would guess I'm actually the silent, reserved type at school? Weird. Anyway, I love you guys! Here's the chappie (finally)!

Alter Ego 

Chapter 11: The Middle Ground

"Could I have a scotch on the rocks and a Chardonnay please?" Inuyasha winced slightly at the sound of the irritatingly over-cheerful voice chirping brightly from behind him, but he managed to fix a smile to his face as he turned to answer the young waitress. "Sure thing Koharu," he answered.  
  
"Thanks," she said with a wide grin, and he had to suppress a roll of his eyes. Why, in the name of all things holy, had Kikyo hired this air-headed little _girl_ to replace Kagome? She was so innocent and Pollyanna-esque that even _he_ couldn't bring himself to insult her. Or perhaps it was more the fact that every snide comment that came to mind seemed to be one that he had hurled at Kagome on some occasion -- and he refused to put the two of them in the same category. Besides, he doubted she'd even have any good retorts to hurl back at him, and that was half the fun.  
  
"Here you go," he said tightly, placing the drinks on the tray and letting out a relieved breath as the girl practically skipped away.  
  
"Having fun?" Miroku asked as he sauntered over, smirking at the irritated scowl on the hanyou's face.  
  
"Shut up, houshi," the silver-haired man replied shortly, but without his usual flare, and his friend cocked his head to one side, watching him appraisingly.  
  
He'd been like this for the past three weeks or so, ever since Kagome had left, and quite frankly it was beginning to worry Miroku. It wasn't like Inuyasha to be so subdued for such an extended period of time. Sure he would sulk every now and then -- he was a pro at that -- but never before had he undergone such a permanent change.  
  
"What's up with you lately?" he asked concernedly, though they both knew full well that it was Kagome. Nonetheless, Inuyasha simply replied, "None of your damn business."  
  
"Oh come on Inuyasha, seriously," Miroku prodded, "You've got to snap yourself out of this; I want my friend back."  
  
"I said it's none of your business, dammit. Just leave it alone, okay, cause there's nothing I can do about it," he finished distemperedly, turning away to refill a customer's beer.  
  
"Oh no you don't," Miroku pressed. "Jesus, if you love her so much, why don't you fight for her? It's not like you to just give up like this."  
  
"I _tried,_" he growled, amber eyes flashing slightly in annoyance, "I tried everything I could to get her to stay, goddammit, but I promised her that if she'd only listen, I'd never bother her again -- _ever_. I'm not about to go back on the one promise I haven't broken yet. It's over, and I lost...more like I screwed myself over," he amended wryly, and Miroku frowned at him.  
  
"Alright," he sighed in defeat, "But if you're gonna give up you've got to at least try to move on. What do you say we go on a double date tomorrow night -- I'm sure Sango's got a friend who'd be available on short notice."  
  
The hanyou gave a short laugh at that and said, "Thanks anyway, but blind dates aren't really my thing."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous -- when you fall off a horse you've got to get right back on or you'll never ride again. This is _exactly_ what you need."  
  
"Since when did you become the expert -- and what the hell have horses got to do with anything?" he grumped, eying the man incredulously.  
  
"It's an expression, my ignorant friend -- come _on,_ you know I'm right," Miroku implored.  
  
The hanyou growled petulantly, glaring at the other bartender, but finally he relented. If Miroku was anything, he was persistent...not to mention quite clever, and Inuyasha knew he'd end up losing this argument whether he actually gave in or not. Better to save himself the embarrassment of getting tricked into it and just agree right off the bat. _Besides,_ he thought in the back of his mind, _maybe he is right._  
  
"Fine," Inuyasha grunted, and Miroku beamed triumphantly. "Now leave me alone before I change my mind." His friend merely chuckled as he strolled away.  
  
"Feh."  
  
-- -- --  
  
_Note to self,_ Inuyasha thought miserably, _never ever listen Miroku again -- ever._  
  
The evening had started out relatively well, considering. The restaurant Sango had chosen was high class with excellent service, and -- since part of the bargain had entailed that Miroku would pick up the tab -- Inuyasha ate _very_ well. He had immediately chosen the most expensive item on the list, if only to spite his friend, but it turned out to be delicious as well.  
  
Sango's friend Yumi was Inuyasha's date, and even he had to admit that she was absolutely gorgeous. She was tall and slender, with eyes like a cat's, dark brown hair that seemed to shine in the low light, and the most perfect of curves in all the right places; in short, she was the definition of sexy. Not only that, but she appeared to have a brain as well as a body, which was a combination that Inuyasha had found to be rare -- except in Kagome of course. But, he admitted reluctantly, to be perfectly frank, this woman was far more exotic than Kagome could ever hope to be.  
  
The real revelation was that he still preferred the latter. Despite Yumi's undeniably seductive appearance, he found Kagome infinitely more attractive. Unfortunately, that line of thinking didn't make it any easier for Inuyasha to put a certain Miss Higurashi out of his mind, which was really the point of the evening in the first place.  
  
It had been approximately halfway through the meal when things first started to go downhill. They were in the midst of a conversation concerning stock prices -- since Yumi was a broker -- when Inuyasha felt a light, suggestive squeeze on his right knee. His eyes widened imperceptibly as he froze in surprise. _Sango's too far away, and unless Miroku is hiding a very big secret, I'm gonna guess that was Yumi._ But the woman gave no visible indication of the action, continuing the conversation without a hitch as if nothing had happened.  
  
In fact, she seemed so indifferent that he began to wonder if he had just imagined it -- but that theory went out the window when, a few minutes later, the hand returned, coming to rest comfortably on his thigh. He choked on the sip of wine he'd just taken when she gave his leg another light squeeze.  
  
"Inuyasha, are you alright?" Miroku questioned worriedly as Inuyasha coughed, trying to clear his lungs of the alcohol that had slipped down the wrong path.  
  
"I'm-" he coughed again, finally managing to rasp, "I'm fine...don't worry about it.  
  
What could he do? He tried moving his leg aside slightly, but that only seemed to encourage her, and when he surreptitiously brushed her hand off of his lap, it was soon replaced by the sensation of a bare foot, traveling stealthily up his pant leg.  
  
_I'll kill Miroku,_ he thought frustratedly as he struggled to keep the woman's hands and feet off of him, without looking like he was being attacked by an army of ants. He had to hand it to her -- she was a pro at this. To look at her across the table there was no indication whatsoever of what was going on underneath.  
  
Finally, the check was delivered, and Inuyasha was certain he'd be home free -- unfortunately that was not the case.  
  
"You two seem to be getting along well," Miroku commented as they exited the restaurant. "Inuyasha, why don't you walk Yumi home -- she only lives about a couple of blocks past your place."  
  
The hanyou shot his friend a glare and was met with a smirk and a glint in the man's eye that told him Miroku knew exactly what had been going on during dinner, and he was terribly amused by it. Miroku quirked a slightly teasing eyebrow at his friend's exasperated expression as Yumi looped her arm through Inuyasha's and pressed in close to his side.   
  
"I think that's an excellent idea," she purred in an alluring alto voice, while the hanyou was still busy silently promising death to Miroku._  
_  
Before he knew it, they were alone on the sidewalk, strolling toward his apartment.  
  
"I can come up with you you know," she whispered seductively, as though bestowing upon him a great reward and fully expecting him to accept without question. "I like you."  
  
"That's alright," he said, trying to keep the aggravation from his voice and put a bit more distance between them. This woman was really beginning to get on his nerves. "I'll be fine on my own."  
  
She gave a small amused laugh and cooed patronizingly, "No, I don't think you understand what I'm saying. _I like you_. I think we should spend the night in your apartment. _Together._"  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and tried again, "No, I don't think _you_ understand what _I'm_ say-"  
  
"Who's that?" Yumi interrupted curiously, arching a finely drawn eyebrow as she looked past him toward the front of his apartment building where a lone figure stood, observing them from the shadows. When she stepped forward into the light, Inuyasha paled in shock at the very familiar face, staring back at him stonily, her blue eyes hard and impassive, and suddenly he was acutely aware of the ridiculously sexy female currently plastered to his arm. _Oh shit._  
  
"Kagome..." he whispered, stunned.  
  
"Sorry I interrupted," the woman in question replied coldly, "I guess I made a mistake. I'll just be going now." And with that she walked briskly down the steps and turned down the street away from the couple.  
  
Oh no -- no way in hell was he going to let her get away twice. "Kagome wait!" he called after her in a voice that betrayed a hint of panic as he tried to go after her -- but unfortunately he was hindered by the very stubborn dead weight that still firmly gripped his right arm.  
  
"Oh for god's sake Inuyasha, let her go," Yumi said contemptuously. Then she trailed an index finger slowly down his chest, trying to entrance him with her catlike eyes, and murmured, "We've got more important things to do."  
  
That was when he lost it. "Will you let go of me already, wench? I don't want to sleep with you, so just take a hint and get the fuck out of here!" He yanked his arm away and turned to the street, hailing a passing cab and shoving his date inside along with twenty bucks. "Here, go wherever you want, but just leave me alone!"  
  
"Fine!" Yumi snapped, obviously quite pissed off herself at this point -- understandably so -- and she slammed the door shut as the cab pulled away.  
  
Once the woman was out of the way, Inuyasha didn't waste another moment before taking off after Kagome at a run. He caught up to her a few blocks down the street, grabbing her by the arm and turning her to face him. "Kagome I-"  
  
"Let go of me, Inuyasha," she ground out.  
  
"No," he replied fiercely, "Not this time."  
  
"You promised to leave me alone!" she flung at him, trying to wrestle her arm out of his grip, but he refused to release her.  
  
"Oh no you don't -- it was your idea to come back in the first place! I'm just trying to set the record straight on what you saw back there!"  
  
Her voice turned wry, with a note of contempt. "I think it's painfully obvious what I saw."  
  
"No it isn't!" he insisted, "Look, Miroku talked me into this stupid blind date and the woman was hanging on to me like an octopus, alright?! I was trying to get rid of her!"  
  
She eyed him carefully, trying to ascertain the veracity of his claims. "Really?" she questioned skeptically.  
  
"_Yes_, really!" he growled back in frustration, and she discovered to her slight surprise that she believed him.  
  
"Okay, I believe you," she conceded, and his eyebrows raised in response.   
  
"You do?" he questioned bemusedly, and she nodded shortly, prompting him to breathe a sigh of relief and release her arm from his vice-like grip.  
  
After a moment, the silence between them grew heavy with the memory of their current standing, and the hanyou's expression clouded once more. Amber eyes regarded with incredulity the woman before him, who had turned and stepped away slightly, staring down at her hands in thought. "Kagome, what are you doing here?" he questioned quietly, "I-I thought you said-"  
  
"I know what I said, Inuyasha," she interrupted him, lifting her head to gaze off across the street as though pondering her words carefully.   
  
"I've been doing a lot of thinking, over these past three weeks," she began. "Well, actually I was trying _not_ to think for most of that time -- up until last night, that is." Taking a breath, she moved her eyes to meet his, which watched her carefully in slight puzzlement and curiosity, with just a hint of hopefulness. "I was wrong about some things, I guess. I'm not saying that what you did was right by any means, but I think I might have judged you unfairly as well because I was so hurt by what you did. I...I overreacted and I ran away from the problem, just like I always have -- ever since I was a little girl." She paused again, glancing down at the sidewalk in preparation for what she was going to say next.  
  
"The thing is," her eyes met his again, "what I really loved about Ryoga wasn't all the manners and the chivalry; opening doors for me, pulling out my chair -- if I'd wanted that, Edward would have been more than enough."  
  
"Who the hell is Edward?" he questioned suspiciously, brow lowered suddenly in a scowl.  
  
"That's beside the point," she dismissed quickly with a small wave of her hand. "Anyway, what I realized last night, when I finally got around to thinking things through, is that maybe I...maybe there was more of Ryoga in you than I thought there was. I was so determined to see you the way I'd always seen you that I failed to consider the possibility that deep down, it was the _real_ you that I was seeing in him."  
  
"That's what I was trying to tell you-" Inuyasha began, taking a step toward her, but she silenced him with a finger to his lips.  
  
"Please- I know that now," she conceded, "I just didn't believe it at the time. I guess all I really needed was time to figure it out for myself." Her hand returned to her side and her eyes lowered as a silence fell between them, broken only by the sound of raindrops beginning to dot the pavement. What began as a light drizzle continued to increase in strength as time stretched on, but neither seemed to take notice as the water seeped into their hair and clothes.  
  
For a moment he merely observed her, trying to read her intent, and she could practically feel his gaze upon her. Finally he asked her, with some trepidation, "So what does this mean?"  
  
A soft smile spread across her lips at that and she raised her eyes once more, this time shining with their former luster as they met his. "It means...I've decided to give you a second chance," she answered, smile turning into a wide grin as his amber eyes flared to life with relief and happiness.  
  
Inuyasha's heart leapt at the words, the weight of guilt and longing that had plagued him almost constantly for over a month lifting from his shoulders at last. He raised his hands to her cheeks, brushing aside the wet strands of ebony hair with his fingertips and gazing deeply into her eyes with such intensity that he felt he would burst from it. Finally he couldn't resist any longer and captured her lips with his own, tasting her with out even a trace of guilt for the first time as she responded willingly, without confliction. This was right; this was home.  
  
Kagome wound her arms around Inuyasha's neck, tangling her fingers in his damp, messy silver locks as he worshipped her lips with a passion. She delighted in the taste of him as it mingled with the sweet rainwater that ran down their cheeks, seeping into the kiss. The instant she'd said it and seen the look in his eyes, she knew in her heart that she'd made the right decision. Whether amber or brown, Inuyasha's eyes were like windows to his soul, and despite his brash facade she could read him like a book once she had figured out how to read between the lines. In hindsight, as she'd realized during the train ride home, even in some of their bitterest arguments the meaning behind his words often went much deeper than she ever would have guessed, probably even deeper than _he_ was aware of, and she had simply been too blind to see it.  
  
He finished with a light, affectionate nibble to her lower lip before drawing back to rest his forehead against hers, their noses touching. "I missed you," he whispered, and she smiled back at him, saying quietly, "I missed you too."  
  
He tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear and she shivered slightly, the wetness finally getting to her and giving her a chill. "We should go inside and dry off," he suggested, and she nodded in agreement, allowing him to slip an arm around her waist and leaning into him as he lead her back up the street and up the steps to his apartment building.  
  
"So...Inuyasha," she began conversationally, a sly, teasing sort of smirk playing across her face and in her voice. "Did you really mean it when you said you wanted to 'spend your whole fucking life' with me?"  
  
The hanyou faltered slightly, thrown off guard. "Um..." he mumbled unsteadily, "I...uh...I-" but he broke off when he heard Kagome's stifled snicker as she shook slightly in suppressed laughter. "What's so funny?" he asked defensively, glaring at her, but she only bust out laughing, unable to control herself any longer, and slipped into the building ahead of him.  
  
"You are," she said simply, as though stating the obvious, turning back to face him in the building's deserted entry hall, her eyes alight in amusement at his scowl. "You know, you're adorable when you scowl like that."  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh am I?" he replied, grinning smugly as he approached her and looped an arm comfortably around her shoulders to lead her up the stairs. "Well I'll just have to do it more often then."  
  
"_More_ often? Is that even possible?" Kagome replied sarcastically.  
  
"Feh. I'll make you a deal: I'll answer your question if you tell me who the hell this Edward guy is."  
  
She laughed once more at the way he growled the name, as though Edward were an insect buzzing around his ear. "Don't tell me you're jealous already," she teased. "Well, let's just say you weren't the only one to be talked into a blind date."  
  
When he shot her a look that said quite plainly, 'And...?' she shook her head and elaborated. "Alright fine. He's a handsome, wealthy, respectful, brilliant young political philosopher/literary genius/wine connoisseur/Oxford graduate that my mother set me up with the other evening, and he positively bored me to death. Happy?" she finished with an amused smile.  
  
"Very," he replied, nodding in satisfaction. "Oh, and by the way," he added casually, flashing her his most characteristic half-smirk, "I did mean it."  
  
Kagome froze in mid-step, eyes going wide as she gaped after the hanyou, who continued walking down the hall. "Really?" she squeaked in disbelief as she caught up with him, turning him to face her.  
  
"Really," he confirmed with a sincere smile, "But lets take things one step at a time."  
  
He looped his arm around her once more and led her into the apartment, fetching her an old sweatsuit of his to change into out of her wet clothes before directing her to the bathroom. As she changed, she recalled with a smile a thought she had had once, before she'd even met 'Ryoga'.  
  
_ 'Seems like they're all either sweet but dull, or interesting but obnoxious. What's a girl supposed to do?  
  
If only there were someone in between...'  
  
_She cracked open the door and peered out across the living room to observe Inuyasha, clad in a plain white t-shirt and a pair of dark flannel sleep-pants, as he carefully built a fire in the fireplace, swearing occasionally when he burned himself in the process.  
  
"Ow! - shit," he grumbled frustratedly once more, and she smiled affectionately as it reminded her of the way he had sounded the day he'd tried to cook for her and managed to plaster the dinner all over the kitchen. _He's sweet on the inside, but he's temperamental as well, not acquiescent -- which makes him interesting. He get's jealous easily, but it's so adorable I just have to laugh, and it's impossible to take it as anything but a compliment.  
  
Well what do you know...the middle ground does exist...  
  
_-- -- --

A/N: Well, what do you think? As I said, there's an epilogue on the way, but probably not until after I update MIA, at least. Ta ta!


	12. Epilogue

Author's Note: I know I took waaaay too long on this. Sorry! But since the body of the story had been resolved and I have two other fics in progress, somehow this one always seemed to take a backseat. Anyway, thanks to a couple of polite prods from Wolf, I finally sat down and finished this thing off. And I suppose a part of me sort of didn't want to let go of this one, since this is probably my favorite of my stories thus far (though I have a new Mir/San on the way soon that might just contest that title – probably not reviews-wise, since it _is_ Mir/San with Inu/Kag as a subplot, but I'm really enjoying writing it nonetheless).

Well, this epilogue is a bit longer than I originally thought it would be, but I just couldn't seem to stop myself. I had a bunch of different ideas for it, and it was difficult to prune it down to an actual chapter, so forgive me if it's a bit rough at times. But I think overall it came together pretty well.

By the way, in the process of writing this epilogue I actually went back and read the whole story over, during which I noticed multiple pesky little typos and formatting errors and such that had apparently slipped by me in the editing process, so at some point I plan to go back and smooth the whole thing over. But not right now…

Divine-Red-Crayon: The twenty bucks was for the _cab_ ride – he wasn't, like, paying her for 'services rendered' or anything (--grin--)

winry-16: Thanks so much! And absolutely, let me know if you write something – I'll be happy to read it!

Fallen-Snow: Umm, I know it's been two months, but in case you're still wondering – yes, being my 'favorite critic' _was_ a compliment (--grin--).

Spider: Thanks so much! I haven't read your fic yet, but just now going over the review replies reminded me that I had gone to your bio and checked it out with the intention of reading it – and then I forgot (--sheepish grin--). Heh-heh, gotta remember to do that…it interested me at the time, I remember that… Oh, and as to your suggestion, all I can say is that great minds think alike…(--grin--)

baby-dreamer: Made any progress on that story yet? Just curious…

Sarcasm Girl8: I can't remember if I ever emailed you, but in case I forgot, an epilogue can be anything from a paragraph to an entire chapter that sort of sums up the ending of a story, often taking place a certain amount of time after the events have concluded. In this case, it's a chapter (--grin--). Think of it as the 'happily ever after'.

Crazyblade: A fellow Minnesotan! Awesome! Wouldn't it be weird if we knew each other offline and didn't even realize it? Whoa…_You've Got Mail_ moment…(--grin--)

Cattykit: I admit, I was somewhat indignant when I first read your critique about indenting – I was like, "I _know_ that, but there are certain exceptions, such as…" (well I won't go into it here, but there are). Unfortunately in the process of rereading the story, I noticed that I had indeed made the mistake of doing it when the exceptions _didn't_ apply – oops…(--grin--) I'll correct them someday…Thanks!

Sango13: The 'middle ground' is a reference to the first chapter in the fic when Kag was looking for someone who fell somewhere in between Kouga and Hojo. She first used the phrase 'middle ground' though right after she found out Inu's secret (I think…).

Artemis Moon: Thanks so much for reading! I read _Easy as 1,2,3,_ months ago and I loved it. I've been meaning to read another one of your stories (Big Trouble-something? The title escapes me at the moment. I keep just calling it 'Big Trouble'), but lets just say you're not the only one who procrastinates. Oh and I _love_ that idea – I tried to incorporate it, but I'm not entirely sure I did it justice…I had trouble finding a good segue…

nitre angel: To answer your question, yeah I know what happened to sailor-scribe -- she got kicked off the site by the content-nazis (that's my new fond nickname for the 'police' --grin--). Doesn't that suck? _The Ad_ was one of my favorite stories! And when I talked to her she said they never even notified her or anything before deleting her account. Anyway, you can find her on as 'nena' and on as 'luna-chick'. _The Ad_ is posted (and completed) in both places.

Wolf: Thanks for the jump-start! This one's for you…(--grin--)

**Alter Ego**

Epilogue

"Kagome?" Inuyasha's voice drifted into the kitchen from the direction of her living room.  
  
"What?" she called back.  
  
"How the hell did you manage to get so much crap?"  
  
She laughed at his mildly irritated question and responded lightly, "That's what happens when you live someplace for a long time. You've got just as much crap as I have Inuyasha -- you just wouldn't know it until you have to box it all up like this. Though," she added wryly to herself, under her breath, "I would like to know how all _my_ crap is going to fit in _your_ apartment..."  
  
"Yeah well I- Gah!" Thud. Kagome's smile disappeared, replaced by a look of concern as she rushed into the living room.  
  
"Inuyasha, are you-" she began worriedly, but she cut off with a laugh when she caught sight of the hanyou lying on his stomach on her floor, chin resting in the palm of one hand as he glared petulantly through narrowed eyes at the large cardboard box he had been carrying, which was now sitting on it's side on the floor in front of him.  
  
He turned his amber eyes to the woman standing above him, saying irritably, "Sure, go ahead and laugh. Now would you mind helping me up?" He rolled to his side and extended a hand toward her, which she took.  
  
The only warning she had, however, was a brief mischievous grin before she found herself yanked to the floor on top of him and then rolled over onto her back so that Inuyasha was above her, smirking. "Who's laughing now?" he said smugly, with a quirk of the eyebrow, and leaned down to kiss her.  
  
She 'mmm'ed contentedly against his lips as they moved sweetly and sensuously over her own, tangling her fingers lazily in his soft, silver locks. He nibbled playfully at her lower lip, a growl rumbling in his chest and evoking a giggle from her at the vibrations of his body, which was flush with her own. The response was just as he'd expected, and he smiled into the kiss as well, pleased at the effect he was able to have on her. Who would have thought he could derive the sweetest pleasure imaginable from simply making her laugh?  
  
When his clawed fingers began to trace scintillatingly suggestive patterns on the bare flesh of her side, just beneath the hem of her shirt, she 'mmm'ed again, this time with a sigh of longing laced within it, but she reluctantly broke the kiss, and met his inviting golden eyes with somewhat glazed sapphire ones.  
  
"Inuyasha, we don't have time right now-" she murmured, but he cut her off with a soft, short kiss.  
  
"Come on -- we can be quick," he cajoled, sliding a hand down to rest upon her jean-clad thigh and squeezing it gently, eliciting a small yearning moan from the woman beneath him.  
  
But she resisted the temptation in favor of sensibility. "But Sango and Miroku will be here any minute and we haven't even changed yet..."  
  
"Perfect, then we kill two birds with one stone," he said with a smirk and kissed her once more, this time more deeply, more passionately, yet still with a gentle affection. "Come on," he murmured once more, running soft fingertips over the flesh of her stomach and at last she caved in with a sigh.  
  
"Alright -- but no more than ten minutes or else we really will be late," she conceded breathily, giving in to the desires he had a talent for evoking within her.  
  
The hanyou grinned at her, amber eyes tinted with that unique brand of lust that only occurs when one is in love with the object of one's affections, and scooped her up into his arms bridal style. "I can work with ten minutes," he said in a playfully arrogant tone of voice that made her giggle once more as he whisked her into the next room.

* * *

Ten minutes later the thoroughly sated couple was rushing about between the bedroom and the bathroom trying desperately to make up for the time they had 'wasted' fooling around and get ready before their friends arrived.  
  
"Inuyasha, have you seen my other earring?" Kagome called to the man in the adjoining bathroom, simultaneously trying to keep her wet hair from soaking her dress while rifling through her jewelry boxes and the discarded bedding and clothes on the floor, hunting for the tiny sapphire item.  
  
"Which ones?" he called in response, his voice raised so he could be heard over the racket of the hair dryer he was using. _That's the problem with having a boyfriend who has more hair than you,_ Kagome thought amusedly, locating a clip to secure her wet hair upon her head for the time being, _You have to wait in line for the dryer._  
  
"The sapphire ones -- you know, the little strings of blue gems?"  
  
"Mm, haven't seen them anywhere," he replied. "Did you check the living room? I think there was a jewelry box in that box I dropped earlier."  
  
"Right, I'll check it." She hurried into the living room and knelt beside the box, which remained exactly where he'd dropped it, completely forgotten in favor of other 'activities'. Some of the contents had spilled out of it: a couple of romance novels, a bag full of bottles of hand lotion and the like that she'd gotten as gifts from various people but never ended up using, and a few boxes and envelopes containing photos that she had yet to sort through and organize. Then she spotted the jewelry box, which had ended up on the other side of the room, over near the front door, lying open with a few tangled necklaces and various earrings and bracelets spilling out across the floor.  
  
As she swept up the scattered jewelry, some of which had slipped beneath the short set of drawers that sat stoutly beside her front door, her fingers fell upon a piece that didn't belong to her, though she recognized it immediately. She sat back on her heels, mouth agape at the sight of the delicate -- if quite dusty, having spent nearly six months sitting behind the dresser -- silver chain, upon which was strung a simple golden band.  
  
Kagome released a bemused breath, smiling fondly at the memories she connected with the seemingly insignificant little item. True, at the time she had hardly considered any memories of the events that had taken place 'fond', but that was before she'd known how it would all end up. In truth, she was grateful -- in a weird way -- for all that had happened between them. Ultimately she realized that if it hadn't been for that idiotic bet, she would never have gotten to know the real Inuyasha -- and neither would he. They say 'all's well that ends well', and despite the cliché, Kagome had come to agree with them. Whoever 'they' were...  
  
"Did you find it?" The hanyou's voice brought her out of her musings as he stepped into the living room, dressed finely in a cobalt blue button-down shirt, with the top two buttons undone, and black slacks, his hair fully dried and tied back into a low ponytail. Funny, she hadn't even noticed when the sound of the dryer had disappeared.  
  
She shook her head in response as she stood, concealing the necklace behind her back, and said, "But I did find something else you might be interested in."  
  
He quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. "And what's that?"  
  
"Close your eyes," she commanded with a grin.  
  
He did as she bade, but not before eying her suspiciously, and she quickly slipped the chain over his head and tied it somewhat awkwardly, since the clasp was broken.  
  
Inuyasha opened his eyes in surprise as he felt the familiar change wash over him like a bucket of water being emptied over his head. His confusion was soon dispelled by the look of mischief upon the young woman's face. "Let me guess..." he began wryly.  
  
Her grin widened as she looped her arms around his neck loosely. "Why, if it isn't Ryoga," she said in mock surprise. "I haven't seen you since the new moon!"  
  
"Ha, ha," he replied dryly, but the amused smirk playing at his lips and the ease with which he rested his own hands upon her hips belied his attempt at annoyance. "Where did you find this thing anyway? I thought you said you'd thrown it away or something."  
  
"I said I threw it across the room," she corrected. "It must have slipped behind that little chest of drawers. It never occurred to me to figure out where it had gone -- I'd completely forgotten about it being there until now."  
  
"Well if you don't mind I'd rather not show up at their rehearsal dinner as 'Ryoga', so I think I'll just take it off," he said, fiddling with the knot she'd secured it with.  
  
She mock-pouted and teased, "And leave me with my scary hanyou instead of my sweet Ryoga?"  
  
"Feh." He gave up on the knot -- which, ironically, he would have been able to open if he'd had his claws at the moment -- and just gave it a sharp yank, glad to feel his hanyou form return once more.  
  
Just then there was a knock on the door and Kagome's eyes widened in alarm, one hand going automatically to her damp locks. "Shit, they're here and I haven't even dried my hair yet!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Inuyasha said easily. "You go finish getting ready and I'll let them in, alright?"  
  
"Thanks sweetheart," the woman said, giving him a quick kiss before hurrying back into the other room.  
  
The hanyou watched her go with an affectionate smile on his face, then glanced down thoughtfully at the golden band that rested in his palm. He'd never exactly been the superstitious type, looking for signs and reading horoscopes and all that crap, but even a cynic like him had to admit that the object struck a certain cosmic chord within him. Maybe it was time...  
  
Another sharp knock, followed by Miroku's voice calling, "Hey -- Inuyasha, Kagome -- anybody in there or are we just standing around here for fun?" brought Inuyasha from his thoughts and he slipped the ring into his pocket and crossed to open the door for their friends.  
  
"Ah, we were beginning to think you'd left without us," Miroku joked, stepping into the apartment with one arm slung loosely around the waist of his fiancé.  
  
"Kagome's in the other room finishing up," Inuyasha explained, and Sango immediately slipped out of the dark-haired man's hold and headed in the direction of the bedroom, saying something about helping Kagome with her hair.  
  
"So," Miroku began conversationally, "how have things been at the bar the past few days?"  
  
"Feh, don't remind me," the hanyou scoffed in reply. "You know Kikyo let that moron Hojo fill in for you behind the counter on Friday night -- I swear he didn't get a single drink right all evening, so I had to keep replacing the ones he'd fucked up. Seriously, you two had better get this whole wedding-honeymoon thing over with soon and get back to work, 'cause I'm not sure how much more of that I can take."  
  
"Why didn't Kagome fill in for me? I'd have thought you'd suggest that first thing," the man commented amusedly.  
  
"We tried that once, but you know how we are -- we spent half the evening arguing and the other half making out. Kikyo won't let her fill in anymore, at least not while I'm there, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her work with _Hobo_."  
  
Miroku smirked at his friend, eyes twinkling with mirth. "I can see how that would be a problem. But still, I can't promise to cut our honeymoon short, I'm afraid."  
  
"Keh." A comfortable silence fell in which the hanyou paced over toward the bedroom door, slipping his hand absently into his pocket and thoughtfully fingering the ring that rested within it.  
  
Hesitating for a moment, Inuyasha turned to his friend and asked curiously, "How did you propose to Sango?"  
  
Miroku's eyes raised at the interesting change of subject and he took a seat in a nearby armchair, propping his feet casually upon the coffee table in front of him and observing the hanyou speculatively. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Just curious," Inuyasha replied, but he could see by the slight smirk on his friend's face that the man could see straight through him.  
  
But Miroku let it pass and simply answered the question. "Paid off the guy who runs the scoreboard at the dome to put it up on the screen during the seventh-inning stretch."  
  
"Seriously?" the hanyou questioned, impressed.  
  
However the other man grinned at him and said, "Nope, saw that in a movie once. It's a good idea though -- wish I'd thought of it at the time."  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'm serious here. How did you do it?"  
  
The dark-haired man merely shrugged and said, "I just asked her, you know? Took her out to a nice restaurant, told her I loved her and asked her to bear my children."  
  
Now it was Inuyasha's turn to raise his eyebrows, causing Miroku to explain, "Well, no, not quite in _those_ words, but something along those lines."  
  
The hanyou nodded silently, taking a seat on the couch across from Miroku as he lapsed into thought, considering the man's words. "So you just asked her? Just like that?"  
  
"Pretty much, yeah. Look, Inuyasha, these things don't have to be that complicated. It's not like you have to come up with some elaborate, wildly romantic scheme in order to propose. If Kagome loves you, which I think you can be pretty sure of at this point, she'll say yes whether you ask her on the scoreboard at a game or on the subway on the way to work. It's not how you ask that's important -- it's who you're asking. Besides, at least according to Sango, some of the most romantic scenes are also the simplest."  
  
Inuyasha nodded once more, taking in the advice, too absorbed in his own thoughts to even dispute the implication that he was indeed considering proposing to Kagome.  
  
A moment later the two women emerged from the bedroom and joined their respective men, who stood to meet them.  
  
"Shall we go?" Kagome suggested to the group, and the others nodded in agreement, the quartet gathering their coats and such before heading down to the street to catch a taxi, chatting amiably all the while.

* * *

The restaurant in which the rehearsal dinner was being held was stylish yet functional, the wood-paneled walls stained a dark cherry hue, the floor occupied by a number of circular tables covered in white linen, the largest of which was intended for the bride and groom and their wedding party.  
  
Sango and Miroku had entered first, heading off to greet their guests as those relatives and close friends who had already arrived mingled about the room. Soon after, Kagome and Inuyasha entered as well, though at a somewhat more leisurely pace, since they did not have the same hosting responsibilities as the bride and groom did.  
  
Kagome turned curiously to the man on her arm when all of a sudden he stopped short. "Inuyasha, what-" But he wasn't paying attention to her. Instead his golden eyes were focused upon something across the room, his expression registering surprise as well as another emotion that Kagome couldn't quite identify -- somewhere between anger and fear. Resentment, perhaps?  
  
She followed his gaze through the crowd until she caught sight of a tall and powerfully poised man with an elegant mane of silver hair, the exact same shade as Inuyasha's own, though it was finer and decidedly tamer. Her eyebrows raised in surprise at first, then lowered in confusion. What were the odds of their encountering another man of such unique features -- though, granted, this man lacked Inuyasha's dog ears, having instead a pointed shape to his otherwise human ones, but his eyes were a penetrating shade of gold as well, only slightly darker than Inuyasha's -- it be that they were related?  
  
_"...We're half-brothers actually -- same father, different mothers. That's kind of where it all starts I guess. Sesshomaru never really approved of my mother, who married Dad after Sess' mother left them. Then my mother died in a car accident when I was really young and Dad got sick and passed on a few years later. Sess was a lot older than me, so he took care of me after that, but only because Dad had made him promise to do so before he died. He provided for me, much to his dismay, until I was eighteen, then kicked me out..."_  
  
Could this be Sesshomaru, the infamous half-brother that Inuyasha had told her about? The hanyou's reaction seemed to suggest it. That look of -- yes, it did resemble resentment, now that she thought of it -- matched perfectly with the tone of voice he had used when speaking of him. That was when another memory from that particular conversation crossed her mind.  
_  
"Uh, nothing."  
  
"No really, what were you going to say?" she pressed on.  
  
"Well, um, it didn't help that I'm...so handsome."  
  
"Oh... Is your brother not so good looking then?" she asked, amused at the embarrassment on his face.  
  
"No, not at all," he said bluntly.  
  
She nodded, the amused expression not leaving her face. "I see," she said, while inwardly thinking that she'd like to meet this Sesshomaru someday, out of curiosity...somehow she thought his opinion might be somewhat biased..._  
  
Kagome had to bite her lip to suppress her laughter. She turned teasingly bright eyes on the hanyou, finally drawing his attention back to her.  
  
"What?" he questioned her grumpily, only causing her to smirk wider.  
  
"That's your brother isn't it," she said, nodding toward the man in question. "The tall, gorgeous one with the toned physique and the cheekbones of a god?"  
  
"How'd you know?" he asked, surprised.  
  
"Just a hunch," she replied. "Considering the way you were staring at him -- as though you wanted nothing more than to rip his throat out -- not to mention the fact that he looks more like you than anyone possibly could without _some_ blood relation, I figured it was a good guess. But I could have sworn you once told me that he wasn't the least bit attractive..."  
  
"Feh," he grumbled. "He's not. What woman would want a gangly fem-boy like that anyway?"  
  
She laughed lightly at his petulant expression. "_Any _woman, you vain idiot -- he's gorgeous!"  
  
"He is not -- and I am _not_ vain!" the hanyou protested.  
  
"Yes you are," she teased. "Admit it -- you're jealous of him too, aren't you."  
  
"Feh," he replied dismissively -- but it wasn't _quite_ good enough to pass as a 'no'.  
  
Finally she took pity on him and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up into his grumpy countenance and saying sincerely, "But don't worry Inuyasha -- I'd pick you over him any day of the week."  
  
His lips quirked up in a subtle sort of lopsided grin. "You'd better," he growled affectionately and pecked her on the lips. She smiled back at him.  
  
Soon the guests were settling into their seats and being served with a delicious meal of roast pork. The real feast would be the next day at the wedding -- tonight was just a chance for the wedding party to prepare for the ceremony and the closer of the guests to gather and visit with the happy couple.  
  
When Inuyasha questioned Miroku as to why in the hell they had invited Sesshomaru, the man merely grinned and said, "It's a wedding -- a time for family and friends to let bygones be bygones and celebrate the future. You _know_ he's not as bad as you've always made him out to be. The fact that you two didn't get along was as much your fault as his."  
  
To that, Inuyasha had responded with the only thing that came to mind: "Feh."

* * *

Kagome gave a lazy yawn and snuggled a bit closer into Inuyasha's chest where they lay curled up together in his -- now _their_ -- bed, in his --now _their_ -- apartment. Allowing her eyelids to drift open she glanced at the clock on the nearby nightstand and saw that it was nearly eleven o'clock in the morning.  
  
"Inuyasha," she murmured gently, turning over within his embrace so that she was facing him. "Inu, wake up -- come on, we've got a million things to do today."  
  
"Ngh -- Like what?" he grumbled sleepily, still not opening his eyes.  
  
"Aside from the stacks of boxes that need unpacking, we have to get to the bank and the post office to take care of my change-of-address issues, plus we have to pick up Miroku and Sango from the airport -- they're coming back from their honeymoon today, remember?"  
  
"Oh yeah," he mumbled, golden eyes revealing themselves at last. "Thank god for that -- I can finally get rid of that damn Hojo."  
  
"Oh come on Inuyasha," she chided amusedly, "He got better, didn't he? He hardly messed up any of the orders last night."  
  
"Yeah I s'pose, but I don't like the way he's always looking at you -- at least when he's out in the crowd he can't see you as well as when he's up in the front with me."  
  
She laughed lightly at that, reaching over and twining a strand of silver hair around her fore and middle fingers idly. "Why Inuyasha, I do believe you're jealous," the woman teased, evoking a tiny growl from her hanyou.  
  
"Of that weakling? Never," he replied, but he knew she'd take that as an 'Of course I am' -- which, of course, was what it was.  
  
Kagome smiled, showing him that she knew exactly what he was saying, and that she loved him for it. When he saw that sort of smile, filled with such openness and affection, he couldn't help but respond with one of his own.  
  
"I don't deserve you," he mused quietly, and a look of mild, pleasant surprise crossed her face at his uncharacteristic and spontaneous candor. "You know, sometimes I still can't believe that you gave me that second chance."  
  
She smiled. "You have no idea how unbelievably glad I am that I did."  
  
Affection softened his golden eyes and he lifted a clawed hand to gently brush a lock of ebony hair back from her face. "Kagome," he began softly, "I know I'm no good at this sort of thing, but...do you think you might...I mean, that maybe we should...oh fuck it -- Kagome, will you marry me?"  
  
Her face split into a spectacular grin at his words and she buried her head in his shoulder to stifle her lighthearted laughter.  
  
"For fuck's sake Kagome, what are you laughing at _now?_ I just _proposed_ to you!" the hanyou grumbled indignantly.  
  
"Oh Inuyasha," she managed, pulling back and shaking her head as her laughter subsided, though the grin remained, "Only you could use the word 'fuck' twice in a marriage proposal and still manage to pull it off."  
  
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Is that a yes?"  
  
"No -- it's a 'fuck yes'," she replied with a teasing grin.  
  
"You know," he said with a mischievous smirk, inching closer, "You are just far too impudent for your own good. That tongue of yours will get you into trouble one of these days, wench."  
  
"Oh, and you're one to talk," she retorted.  
  
He answered by pressing a kiss to her lips, long and lazy, bringing forth a satisfied sigh from the woman beneath him as he did so.  
  
When he pulled back his golden eyes gazed deeply into her blue ones. "I love you, Kagome Higurashi," he murmured, and a smile spread across her face.  
  
"I love you too, Inuyasha Takahashi."  
  
Then his eyes widened slightly as he realized what he'd forgotten. "Oh shit -- I didn't give you the ring."  
  
"You bought me a ring?" she questioned in mild surprise, watching him on raised elbows as he shifted over to his side of the bed and began rummaging through the drawer in the nightstand.  
  
"Well, not exactly," he replied, finding what he was looking for and scooting back over to sit beside her, fist closed around something. She sat up and looked curiously between it and his face. When he opened his hand she drew a short breath as she recognized the same simple golden band that she had discovered behind the dresser a couple of weeks ago -- the one that had indirectly been the cause of their falling in love in the first place.  
  
Biting her lip with a smile, she took the ring from his hand and gazed at it, turning it in her fingers, watching it catch the light. It appeared to be a bit smaller than the last time she had seen it.  
  
"I had it adjusted to your size," the hanyou explained, as though reading her thoughts. "I also had it engraved -- read what it says."  
  
Around the edge of the ring in delicate script were the words, _'I can't live with or without you...' _the words to their song, like a moment frozen in time for her to carry with her and remind her of him when they were apart.  
  
"I know I'm supposed to give you a diamond or at least a jewel or something for an engagement ring, but I can't really afford that kind of thing--"  
  
She shook her head to stop him tears in her eyes. "No, this is absolutely perfect. I'd rather have this than the most expensive ring money could buy."  
  
"Then why are you crying?"  
  
The woman rolled her eyes before saying, "Inu, hon, we've talked about this one -- women cry when they're happy too. These are happy tears."  
  
"Oh yeah...man, I'm never going to get used to that one..."  
  
"Don't worry," she said, slipping the ring onto her finger and wrapping an arm around his waist, settling back with him against the headboard, "You'll get used to it eventually."  
  
"I s'pose so -- hey, didn't you say we had a bunch of stuff we had to do today?"  
  
"Ah, you're right! What time is it?"  
  
"Uh -- eleven-thirty," he replied.  
  
"Shit, we've got to get going. You go on and take a shower and I'll go-"  
  
"Are you going to be this jumpy all the time?" he asked in mock exasperation.  
  
She grinned at him, rolling out of bed. "Only when you're this lazy."  
  
"I'll have you know," he said, following her lead nonetheless, "That I am not lazy. I'm just...relaxed."  
  
"Ha! You know most of the time _you're_ the one who's flying off the handle and _I'm_ the one who has to calm_ you_ down."  
  
"Feh -- but _I_ only fly off the handle when it makes complete _sense_ to," he pointed out.  
  
"_Feh,_" she replied, playfully mocking him.  
  
"Hey," he smirked, catching her wrist and turning her to face him, "that's _my_ line."  
  
She merely grinned once more and chided, "You're so possessive."

His grin matched hers as he replied simply, "You wouldn't have me any other way."

* * *

A/N: (--sigh--) It's done at last! Well, please tell me what you think of the epilogue. As I said, at some point I'll be going through and re-editing the entire story, so if the epilogue is too long-winded and/or pointless and meandering I can fix it then.

Anyway, I've really loved writing this story and I want to thank you guys so much for all the support. As I said early on, I never expected this one to be all that popular, so the fact that you guys seemed to like it so much came as a very pleasant surprise. Thanks for everything!

(By the way, in case you're interested, I have a fictionpress account at which I've posted a collection of old short stories of mine. If you like my current writing style and want to see how horrible it once was, check it out! The link is on my bio. Ta ta!)


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